Roses, Guns, and Boys
by Death-Scimitar
Summary: GW crossover with OHSHC. The five pilots receive a new mission and this time they might be in over their heads. Can they actually act like normal teenagers when the teenagers they are surrounded by aren't what you consider normal?
1. Maxwell House Coffee

A/N: "My God, someone stop me, I started another story! Anyway so background on this, supposedly when I was camping with Strata we got to talking about weird crossovers and this one came out, but only as a fleeting thought, about a week and a half later I wrote this without even remembering that I had mentioned this crossover before, it wasn't until I told Strata about it she reminded me.

Anyway, this will be more focused on humor, or as much as I can get of it. Some of the jokes will be cliche, stupid, or just leave you thinking, "What the fuck?" but that's usually how my mind works when I try to get something humorous out.

I honestly don't know how long this will last, considering I promised myself that I WILL finish Wingz Corp.

I haven't decided if there will be any pairings in this, if there are it will only be very light, doesn't matter if its m/m or m/f. Suggestions always help. But to be safe I will rate this T, probably because of later language...

So here's your Gundam Wing crossover with ?."

* * *

_**Roses, Guns, and Boys**_

_**Chapter 1: Maxwell House Coffee**_

The screen flickered alive in the dark room, sounding out a faint repetitive beep. A teenager was sitting in front of the computer in the matter of seconds, eyes quickly scanning through the parameters of the next mission.

Another teenager appeared at his shoulder. "Ne, Hee-chan, what is it?" He asked as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "A new mission already?" The two had just returned from their previous mission two hours ago; a mission that had lasted over 48 hours of nothing but reconnaissance and a stakeout of an OZ base. Trowa and Wufei were taking care of the other half of that mission as the two stared at the computer screen. "So, what're we up to this time?"

Heero read through the orders a fourth time making sure he hadn't missed any underlying code or hidden message and just to make sure that he had actually read it correctly. "Dr. J has lost his mind." He mumbled.

"Well, what?"

"We're being sent to a school to monitor the children of high ranking OZ officers and companies that have a direct connection with the war." Heero was definitely not pleased with this new mission, but it wasn't him to complain or just decline, he would go through with it to the best of his abilities. Failure was not an option. "Duo, secure the safe house. We're going to be leaving the Gundams behind this time."

"What about the others?" Duo asked. No trace of exhaustion or sleepiness could be seen on him once he heard the explanation of the new order.

"They will be joining us as soon as they finish their missions and secure their Gundams." Heero closed his laptop with a click. "Damn…"

"Man, this might be harder than you think." Duo groaned. He straightened and pointed an accusing finger at Heero. "You _suck _at blending in with a group your own age of normal non-Perfect Soldier types." He shrugged with his hands up and shook his head helplessly, causing his meter long braid to flick back and forth. "I trust that Dr. J has already sent in transcripts with our identities and such."

"We should be receiving copies of those records as soon as we're on a plane back to Japan." Heero answered.

"Just how long is this mission supposed to last?" Duo asked. "I mean we're supposed to be fightin' for the colonies and the Mad Five has us scurrying around and going to school to spy on kids!"

"Many of these civilians are associated with companies that are dealing in the manufacturing of Mobile Suits and other weaponry. I guessing that Dr. J and the others want us to get close to these kids so get a better idea of what dealings their parents are up to. It shouldn't be too hard since a lot of these students are direct heirs to the companies."

"Yeah, the only hard part will be blending in when all you've known is a soldier's life." Duo scoffed crossing his arms over his chest. "So what school are we talking about here?"

Heero actually let out a sigh. "I'll brief you on the plane."

"God…" Duo ran a hand through his unruly bangs. "That plane's leaving soon isn't it?" He didn't wait for Heero to reply. "Guess I should get packing if I want to get my toys passed security. What a drag," he mumbled to himself, "just got back from a 48 hour mission, barely got an hour of sleep, and here they send us to another mission, where we're to be stuck on a public plane for God only knows how many hours from London back to Japan, but I probably can't sleep during that time since most of it will be spent be briefed and trying to establish a persona to slip into all the while teaching Hee-chan how to act like a normal teenager…" His rambling continued even as he handled the explosives and his trusty High-Powered Browning, packing them carefully into his duffel bag.

Heero was once again inwardly surprised at how long Duo can ramble without breathing as he did his own packing.

* * *

"What the hell!" Duo yelled causing a quite a few of those around him to stare. He winced when Heero's elbow discreetly connected with his side. "Sorry." He said to those around him putting on the sweet, innocent teenager mask. Turning back to Heero, he glowered. "What do you mean I'm supposed to be the son of the Maxwell House Coffee Corporation's chief executive?"

"Exactly what I mean." Heero answered. "Apparently Dr. J found it amusing and since it's more of an American company no one will be able to see that the identity is a fake. Plus, this way Wufei will still be able to yell at you when you provoke him without worrying too much about slipping up."

Duo huffed and assumed a defiant position as he continued to read through the rest of his identity. '_Reason for attending is to make friends with the children of other companies to expand the coffee trade to Japan as a part of training for taking over the job as chief executive.' Hm… shouldn't be too hard. I'll actually have an excuse as to why I act hyper all the time! I can just blame it on the coffee and annoy the hell out of Wufei even more. Wait a second… _Duo turned to Heero with a questioning gaze. "Do you know what the others' stories are?"

Heero nodded. "Quatre can just go as himself since none know him as a Gundam pilot. Wufei will also be going under his own name since he is the heir to the Dragon Clan of L5. Trowa will be keeping his regular codename and entering the school as a special scholar student, he will be acting as a scholar student from the L3 colony. I'll be the son of a dead engineer who came up with the design of the Aries Mobile Suit, who has come back home to earth from the colonies to be with family and to go to school."

"Won't we be arriving late? So we'll be missing the opening ceremonies and such, what's our cover for that?" Duo inquired as he looked over the parameters again, studying some of the pictures of students that Dr. J provided as potential targets.

"Yours is that you were taking care of last minute agreements with union workers that couldn't wait."

"And?" Duo pressed.

"I was tending the funeral of my late mother and moved in with my uncle who is conveniently never at home due to his job as a archeologist."

"That's almost too convenient. In fact, I think it's borderline suspicious if anyone looked to closely." Duo remarked.

"It's an elite school. The students won't bother with those of a lower class. It's almost stupid at how naïve they are."

"Let's just hope that they're naïve enough to ignore your little soldier quirks." Duo leaned back in his chair; having already read through the parameters twice, and analyzed the map of the school with all possible escape routes until he had it memorized, and studied the provided students a few times. He gave the data back to Heero who placed it in a portfolio, which would be either burned or shredded at the earliest moment and stuffed it into his carry on bag. Looking at it, the guards would just regard it as some type of homework or related research.

Heero shut his eyes as he folded his arms over his broad chest, his head tilted back slightly against the headrest of the chair. He fell into a light sleep, where he was still mostly aware of what was going on around him, but it was enough to rest him up for the upcoming mission.

Duo watched as his only source of some amusement went to sleep. He knew that Heero could sense what he was doing and he knew that Heero would probably kill him if he tried to pull a prank. Sighing, Duo rested his cheek on his fist, leaning on the armrest to watch the other people on the aircraft. He noted the small details about them, a nervous habit, an annoyed gesture, or something that might give them away as OZ spies or off duty soldiers. The funny thing was, he had already located six.

* * *

"This can't be right." Wufei growled. "It's an injustice, the five of us in the same school? It's a disaster waiting to happen."

Trowa watched the Chinese pilot as he grumbled, all the while remaining impassive. He turned to look at Quatre to his left when he spoke up.

"It's obvious that Dr. J and the others want us to infiltrate and try to get as much information as we can about the militaristic dealings and transactions. It might give us an idea what OZ might be up to and what kind of new weapons we can expect them have when we go up against them again."

"The women there will probably be insufferable." Wufei mumbled.

"Try not to offend any of the ladies while we're there, Wufei." Quatre warned lightly. "Since you're going under your title as heir to the Dragon Clan it might bring shame to your clan and also the ladies might be daughters of some of the food providers and transportation to the L5 colony. Imagine if they managed to get their parents to boycott-"

"Enough already!" Wufei exhaled sharply through his nose. "I get it already."

"We should get moving." Trowa spoke up. "We'll have to rendezvous Heero and Duo before heading to the school."

"Right." Quatre nodded and stood up. "Well, shall we get going?"

* * *

The five made the rendezvous at the house where Heero's supposed uncle was supposed to be living. It was nothing but a rundown old apartment that looked like it hadn't been used in a least five years. At least it was close to a small market. There were two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room and kitchen. The kitchen and living room were practically one room, separated only by a counter and some cabinets.

Heero was not going to go anywhere until he had the place completely secured. Micro cameras directed at every possible entrance, locks and back-up locks that required certain codes, every crack and hole covered, computers set up that had safety locks for their safety locks, and anything else Heero thought of while his brain went into paranoid soldier mode. He made the second bedroom the computer room, setting up his laptop and running system checks on all programs and even checking up on OZ.

Trowa helped Heero set up his security, the tall brunette commenting where he, as an infiltrator, might find a weakness in the system.

Wufei was checking the cupboards, seeing if the previous owner had left anything of use or anything that might suggest there was some sort of infestation. He did find some utensils that were in good shape, just needed a good washing a disinfesting, a couple of plastic cups, a few bowls of various sizes, which only two had matching lids, and a couple of decent plates.

Duo and Quatre were working on removing the plastic covering from the furniture. The covering had done its job quite well; the couch and chair were almost completely dust-free. The small coffee table had seen better days with its scratches, small indents, a leg that looked like it had been glued back on numerous times, and a drawer which wouldn't close all the way.

While the two were making the house a little more livable, Quatre was explaining to Duo some of the etiquette that might be expected of him while they were at the school.

"They might let some things slide due to your American mannerism," Quatre explained. "But you might want to be careful with your habit of giving everyone nicknames. I'm sure Heero explained to you the honorifics that the Japanese use seeing as you made short work of picking that up and calling Heero 'Hee-chan'."

"It gives Heero a softer side." Duo defended himself.

"Still, I would advise against it." Quatre thought for a moment. "We all are going to have to act like we've never met before." He absently rubbed his chest above his heart. "I guess it makes me kind of sad." He gave a shrug and a small smile. "I'm being silly."

"I don't think so, Quat." Duo grinned. "Wufei, you luck out! I won't be able to search you out just for the fun of annoying you until we actually meet!"

"Looks like I'll be spending my time trying to avoid any such confrontation." Wufei answered, his voice slightly muffled by the cabinets he was currently sifting through.

"Confrontation?" Duo placed a hand to his forehead, acting faint. "You wound me with your words, Fei."

Heero and Trowa walked from the bedroom-turned-computer room. "Security has been set up." Heero announced. "It's not complete, but any normal person won't be able to get passed it, even a hacker. I'll finish it when I get back from the school this evening."

There was a scoff from behind the counter drawing the eyes of the four pilots. "It looks like Maxwell has already started his campaign of his company in this country." Wufei's head appeared and he placed three large tins of the Maxwell House coffee on the counter; two of them had yet to be opened. "And you have your own coffee maker as well." He placed the machine next to the tins.

Quatre covered his mouth with his hand to hide the growing smile.

Heero gave his head a small shake before turning to take his leave. He gave a curt farewell and walked out the door to the rental car they had for a few days until Duo's Sweeper friends come in a drop off their own vehicle that they had already paid half of. He climbed into the cheap American made Cavalier and followed the map he had memorized to the school.

The five had agreed to come to the school at different times to avoid suspicion, and since the school had only started the week before, they wouldn't miss much. Heero would be the one who would arrive first since his transcript made clear that he was already in around the area. Duo would follow him the day after tomorrow, then next week would be the arrival of Quatre, Trowa, and then Wufei due to the distance of the colonies.

Heero allowed himself to examine his surroundings more closely. The small suburb seemed to be a calm place; there were quite a few houses and apartments, with a few shops nestled around. He returned his full attention back to the road, but always wondering how this place seemed to escape the war.

After about a half-hour drive, Heero entered the grounds of the school. The campus was expanse and well cared for. A parking lot was placed just before to the entryway and the walkway led to the arch the acted as the entryway to the actual campus of the school. Past the entryway was a large pond that glittered with the light from the afternoon sun and acted as the center of the three different buildings with numerous wings each. Heero could only assume that they were the elementary school, the middle school, and the high school.

He walked to the center the building where the high school was and where he was supposed to meet with the Chairman and get his class schedule, room number, and the rundown of the school before he would no doubt get led off to his class to begin what he hoped would be the norm for the rest of the mission.

But with this particular high school he would not get what he wanted.

Welcome to Ouran High School.

* * *

A/N: "I hope I didn't make it too obvious what the school will be... I had all the DVDs of Gundam (until something happened to two of them so they are currently MIA) and I have up to volume 7 of Ouran High School Host Club and I have seen the whole anime once. I somewhat have an idea of what I'm doing, but I'm mostly pulling this out of my ass...

About the time line... Well, I have it that Haruhi broke the vase in the Host Club around the firs day of first week and now she's somewhat integrated into the Club, but I'm not sure of how many of the episodes/chapters from the manga/anime I want to incorporate in with this story. As for the Gundam Wing time line..." sighs "Well, that basically went AWOL. I can safely say its after the Edwards' base incident and before they went to space, but somehow they found the time to grow comfortable around each other and trust each other and all that shit..." slumps in chair "Yeah, Duo shot the time line and Heero trampled it with Wing.

So, suggestions will help and to tell me that I'm not completely insane for doing this crossover. (Hey I couldn't help it anyway... After hearing the Japanese voice actor of Tamaki and saying that it sounded familiar when he actually talked serious, which rarely happened, and later finding out that its the SAME Japanese voice actor of Heero)

Please tell me if there are any glaring mistakes, so I can fix them and not confuse the rest of the populace...

Yeah, thanks and please review.

Death


	2. Is He Gay?

"So, first of all I would like to apologize for the long absence... There are plenty of reasonable excuses that I don't feel like listing but this story (along with Wingz) has always been in the back of my mind, plotting in a dark corner. I guess the thing that really lit a fire under my ass with the fact that lately almost every other day I would get an email notification that someone had put this story on the alert or favorites and I just felt guilty for not getting to this sooner... But here I am and hopefully I can put up chapters at a reasonable pace instead of having a 2 year hiatus...

As for this chapter, I had the first part written way back in 2007 and I finally started picking at it again around the end of 2008 and now it's finished. So hopefully the time-frame between writing this chapter isn't noticeable.

So, I guess here I say; enjoy!"

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Is He Gay?**_

Haruhi once again found herself sitting between the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, and they were up to their usual antics. Haruhi could not help but notice how the two of them tended not to have contact with the rest of their class but ever since she joined the Host Club they opened up more to her. It seemed kind of strange. They acted like there was no one in the class but themselves, with Haruhi added. If a classmate came up to talk them, they tend to just brush that person off. Their attitudes in the classroom compared to Music Room 3, where the Host Club took place, were starkly different.

Yeah, it was strange that a girl was taking part in the Host Club. Of course only the members knew that she was a girl, all the female costumers thought that she was in fact a he. That was a long story, which included her breaking an $80,000 vase and therefore indebted to the club and being mistaken as a boy. Her appearance at the time hadn't helped either, but it wasn't like they asked whether she was a boy or girl when they first met her.

"Oi, Haruhi, can we come to your house?" Hikaru asked, scooting his desk chair closer to her.

"Hikaru, I told you before, no." Haruhi said, opening her book to a random page, feigning studying. The twins just would not give up.

"Why not?" Kaoru asked, copying his twin and enclosing in on her other side.

"Because I don't want you two at my house."

"That hurts! Why are you so mean?" The twins said in unison.

The commotion in the classroom remained at a controlled level until one of the teachers walked into the room. "Excuse me, your attention please." The noise level quickly diminished and the students locked their attention on the teacher and the teen that followed him into the room. "As you've heard when you first stepped foot in class 1-A that there would five others joining us at a later date, one of those five has arrived. I would like to introduce Heero Yuy."

The twins watched with interest as their new classmate walked in. There was something of a bet going on in the Host Club between Tamaki and the Twins, something about whether the newcomers would be considered for the Club or, well… not.

The way he walked in, quiet, confident, and with power and the reactions from all of the girls made sure that the Twins had cinched this bet. They wagered that all the newcomers would be Host Club worthy while Tamaki believed that none of them would be even close to being considered.

The school uniform fitted somewhat snugly around his shoulders and a backpack hung off of one. Everything about him looked small and slight; a possible effect of living up in the colonies, except the set of those shoulders, but the classroom felt something when he looked up. Though they didn't know what it was exactly; they couldn't recognize that internal instinct or flight or fight, or that this boy was something dangerous- some sort of wild animal that could not be tamed or contained. His eyes were a dark Prussian blue just barely shadowed by the bangs of his dark brunette hair.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched the boy do a quick glance over the whole room, and she recognize that he analyzed everything- almost like Kyoya- but in those blue eyes were something, something years older than the boy. She was reminded of a time when her dad took her to a zoo and they went to the wolf exhibit. One of the wolves stared right her and she would never forget the thrill that went through her spine. It told her that if that wolf was not locked up and if it seriously felt like it; it would jump her and tear out her throat. Gruesome but very, very true.

"I'm Heero Yuy," He introduced himself with a small bow and most of the girls that frequented the Host Club swooned at his voice, it held a serious and slight deep inflection; the girls were already hoping he would join the Host Club just by the sound of his voce and his slightly rugged looks. "It's a pleasure."

Haruhi could not help but be embarrassed when one of the girls actually fainted. _Rich people are so shallow…_ The twins were snickering on either side of her; somehow they must have shared the same thought, which, then again, wasn't that unthinkable.

"Mr. Yuy, would you please take the seat behind Haruhi." He directed the boy, pointing out Haruhi before he turned to tend to the unconscious girl with an exasperated sigh.

Heero nodded and walked back to his newly assigned seat. He brushed by Haruhi, giving her the smallest glance before moving to his seat behind her. In that glance, he took in the boy's almost effeminate appearance but a scholarly intelligence behind those wide eyes. Heero labeled him as a possible _non-threat but further examination was required_. He did not recognize this Haruhi from any of the profiles that Doctor J had given him.

Taking his seat, Heero looked at his surroundings from this perspective. He was examining all possible escape routes, playing different scenarios for every conceivable thing that could happen that might be a threat to himself and his mission, and recognizing that the two empty seats on both sides of him were most likely meant for the other pilots. He placed his backpack on the floor and rummaged through it, all the while keeping a discreet but wary eye on the people around him.

"So, Yuy-" Hikaru turned to him from his left.

"what's your story?" Kaoru finished from his right.

Heero pulled out a notebook and a pencil. "What do you mean?" He asked without looking up at them, but his eyes peeked through his brown fringe.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, don't play with him." Haruhi said without turning around. "I doubt he would be interested in working in the Club. He probably has better things to do."

"Kinda like you-" Hikaru said.

"have better things to do?" Kaoru said.

"Well, of course," Haruhi responded easily. "But I have my debt to pay off, so…" She gave a helpless shrug.

Heero wanted to sigh but he remembered the lecture that Duo had given him before he left. "_Teenagers are curious, Hee-chan, not like some Perfect Soldiers." _So, he had to act curious, and Duo said he sucked at blending in. "Club?"

"The Host Club-"

"where girls who have time-"

"on their hands come to-"

"enjoy being waited on-"

"hand and foot-"

"and to enjoy the sight-"

"of good-looking men!" The twins ended together, somehow during their talk they moved in sync so that they now stood in front of Heero's desk, the line of their bodies touching. Heero was slightly annoyed that he couldn't tell the two of them apart, or differentiate anything that would help. Their hair was the same red-orange and they were exactly the same height. Both of their voices were melodious with that hint of mischievousness and devil-may-care, as if they were laughing at their own joke about the world and damn anyone who tried to join in on it.

The twins were surprise to find that Haruhi had whacked them in the back of the head with her book. "You're being rude, you haven't even introduced yourself yet and you're already pestering him."

"I'm Hikaru." The one of the left said.

"I'm Kaoru." The right said.

"And we're the Hitachiin twins!" They ended together.

Heero couldn't help but dread the day when Duo met these two.

* * *

The school day ended quickly and Heero had already learned quite a few things. First of all, the Chairman was an idiot, second, his classes, for the most part were inferior, third, there was something about the Hitachiin twins that sat wrong with him. Their mother was a major fashion designer and their father was a computer programmer but there was nothing in his files about a Hitachiin programmer that he should look out for. Finally, there was something extremely off with the boy Haruhi Fujioka. He did not know what it was exactly; maybe it was something about the way the boy talked or his mannerisms, all he knew is that he did not like the mystery of Haruhi.

While in his classes and in between them, Heero had managed to catch a few conversations between target students about their parents' line of work. While he did not learn much from the scraps of conversation, he was able to speculate that there have been rumors of a new type of mobile suit or operating system.

Heero packed his bag with the new books and assignments he received. He tensed when he felt the twins slink up to either side of him and each placed an arm around his shoulders. It took his wrought-iron self-control to keep from acting on his instincts and lash out at them or something. Luckily, all the 'hanging' Duo does on and around him has helped him with the reflexes.

"Say, Yuy, why don't you come-" one started.

The other effectively finished, "with us and check out the club."

Heero refused to reply. It worked in all the other schools he was placed in, so why not here?

"We could use another strong, silent type," Hikaru remarked.

"Do you really think Mori will mind if someone else invades on his 'Wild' type?" Kaoru asked.

"I was thinking Yuy here is more of the 'Dangerous' type."

"The girls will definitely go for that."

"They already have."

"True, true."

"Don't you think you two should wait until he actually agrees before trying to fit him into the club?" Haruhi sighed.

"Come on, Yuy," Kaoru implored.

"At least come and check out the club," Hikaru added.

"You two just want him to come so you can flaunt him in front of Tamaki," Haruhi accused.

"Exactly!" The twins responded, ruffling the hair of the shorter teen.

Heero bit back a growl, hearing the Duo voice in the back of his mind chiding him about not being able to blend in. "Fine, I'll go," He ground out.

The twins grinned like cats that had just cornered a mouse and they knew that it would not be able to get away. "Right this way!" They steered Heero through the school, Haruhi followed a few paces behind, and lead him up a flight of stairs to the music rooms' hall. Passing the first and second room, they came upon the third and stood before the door. "Here it is!" They each grabbed a handled and pushed open the door.

Heero was actually petrified when roses came fluttering at him, their petals brushing against his face. Before he could react, which was absolutely unthinkable, a fully-bloomed rose was shoved into his face and, with what was supposedly a 'sultry' voice, the holder said, "Welcome."

"Your highness, you need to get your eyes checked again," Hikaru remarked.

"This is no girl," Kaoru added.

Heero felt a small twitch begin to develop under his eye before slapping the flower away and leveling a fierce glare at the owner.

The teen, who had to be this 'Tamaki', blinked with wide eyes before they finally lowered and gazed at the annoyed soldier. He flinched back from the glare and was instantly reminded of Kyoya. He 'eeped' and dropped down into a fetal position, hugging his legs to his chest, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes.

"This is the Host Club room, Yuy," The twins said together before walking on top of Tamaki without any regard to the taller teen.

Heero pointedly looked at the trodden-upon teen with a raised eyebrow and didn't give any reply to the twins.

Haurhi sighed behind him. "You two… This is Tamaki Suoh," indicating to the trampled teen, "he is the one who is in charge of the Host Club. He's in class 2-A."

Tamaki stood up and went before Haruhi grabbing her chin and tilting her face upward. "Isn't there anything more you would like to add, mostly pertaining to my unbelievable beauty and wonderful personality that no one would be able to hate?"

_Is he gay? _Was the first coherent thought Heero had in the past few minutes and he actually had to berate himself for such a... a 'Duo-moment'. A moment where he ended up spouting the first thing that came to mind, luckily he had enough control not blurt it out and keep his mouth shut.

"I hate you," Haruhi replied bluntly before continuing into the room.

Tamaki seemed to dry up and completely wither at those words, crumpling to the ground. A slack look was upon his face; like someone had just bitch-smacked him with an Ares suit and he somehow managed to live.

"So," Hikaru leaned over him.

"We won," Kaoru was on the other side.

"Wha?" Tamaki looked up with glazed eyes.

"Our bet!" The twins gestured towards Heero.

Tamaki recovered so quickly that Heero had flinched back- holding back that reaction to defend himself- when he had shoved his face close to the pilot. Tamaki then proceeded to walk around him, analyzing Heero like he was some sort of item he was considering buying.

After his initial surprise, Heero recovered and was now studying Tamaki. _Suoh, that means he's the son of the chairman. His father is in charge of one of the major corporations and has major influence in numerous industries; though it is speculated that it is actually the chairman's mother who is calling all the shots. This Tamaki might actually have some idea what transactions could be taking place between OZ and the company that he is in line for inheriting. He doesn't look like he's full Japanese, especially with that blond hair; must be some French in him or something. _

The blond shoved his face close to Heero's again and this time Heero allowed a small growl to slip out. "Get out of my face."

Clearly, Tamaki's survival instincts did not always work.

"Tamaki, you might want to get out of the new student's personal space,"

Heero's eyes immediately found speaker and analyzed him within the next moment- tall, dark hair, glasses, slender frame, dark eyes- it was because of those dark eyes that Heero placed him under the category of _possible threat_. There was a smile on the teen's lips as he greeted Heero, but the calculating gaze seemed to recognize that Heero was not quite what he appeared to be. "Welcome to the Host Club. I'm Kyoya Ohtori, class 2-A."

"The Shadow King," Hikaru stage whispered.

"The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," Kaoru followed his brother's lead.

Kyoya ignored them, acting like nothing was said. He was not going to deny it. He held out his hand to Heero, a benign grin on his face.

Heero did another quick assessment of the teen before him. _Ohtori, a family mostly known for the works in the medical field, the company has also set up numerous spas and indoor vacation areas that are said to be for the 'health of the mind and body'. It was also the Ohtori group that provides much of the medical supplies to the Earth Alliance military. They also contributed medicines to the slums of L2 and tried to help alleviate the epidemic that was going on there. Duo would probably know more since he grew up in L2. Right now, the family is trying to remain neutral, helping both sides and not turning anyone away at their hospital doors. That might be end up being their downfall. Romefeller and OZ will probably press for exclusive care for their soldiers and to turn in any terrorist or guerillas. There have been rumors that they also helped manufacture performance enhancing drugs, could be the same company that Doctor J acquired his 'methods' from._ He slowly reached out and grasped the student's hand. He still wasn't use to the whole idea of a handshake, the only other person he ever shook hands with was Zechs but it was something he would have to get use to eventually.

Kyoya saw calculations pass through Heero's eyes in the split second when he first held his hand out to the younger student. He wondered briefly what the brown haired teen had assessed of him for he had made his own analysis of the undercover pilot. The strength behind that grip was well masked, but it was still there and Kyoya was certain that if the other considered it, he could probably crush his hand. "It's a pleasure," He remarked, pumping the hand before letting go.

Haruhi returned from the Club's storage room with a child in tow, clinging to her sleeve. The wide-eyes, innocent face, and feathery hair made Heero think that the kid was only in middle school, and besides that, he was totting a stuffed bunny under his arm. "Heero, this is Hunny; Mitsukuni Haninozuka. Believe it or not he's in class 3-A."

Heero was quite surprised at that information but hearing the name, he recognized it. _This is one of the sons of the Haninozuka line; he must be the elder but he looks like a middle school student. The family supposedly trained some of OZ's special ops in martial arts and hand-to-hand. _Before Heero could go on with his analysis, said boy grabbed his hand and started pulling on it.

"Hee-kun, do you plan on staying?" The childlike teen asked, as he tried leading the 01 pilot further into the music room.

Warning sirens went off in his head; this person was and is a fighter. _Threat!_ No matter how innocent and young this Hunny looked, he had training. Heero forced himself to relax, and wasn't doing a very good job at it, but at least he wasn't going to rip his hand out of that deceptively weak grip. _Especially since where a Haninozuka is then no doubt a Morinozuka will be there as well, the two families are close. All of us will definitely have to be very careful._

Speak of the devil.

"Takashi!" The hand left his and the small blond ran over to another boy. He climbed up the tall frame and sat on his shoulders.

"Mitsukuni," The teen was at least 6'4 with short black hair and black eyes. It seemed like a serious expression would be the only feature he could express but there was still a hint of warmth in his gaze when he regarded Hunny. It was a little like Trowa's visage.

_Like Haninozuka, his family also trains OZ troops. This could end in disaster if we're not careful. They, personally, might not have anything to do with the training. Still, they both will have instincts not unlike a soldier._

The tall teen turned to regard Heero and was about to introduce himself but the twins cut in before he was able. "Yuy, this is Mori or Takashi Morinozuka. Like Hunny he's in 3-A." They explained in unison. Mori closed his mouth with an almost audible clack; a look of barely masked disappointment at the interruption crossed his face. Hunny jumped down from his shoulders and was pulling on the hem of his jacket, leading the way to a table piled high with sweets and cakes.

"What do you think of the Club so far?" One of the twins asked.

Heero decided to give up for the time being at trying to tell them apart. But before he could answer, Tamaki's voice cut through his train of thought. He was getting slightly paranoid at the fact that the 'King' of the Club was completely unpredictable and was place in the category of 'Unknown Variable'. It made Heero very uncomfortable.

"If Yuy is to join the Club, we have to see how he is accepted by the customers!" Tamaki made a wide, sweeping gesture around the room. It was being set up to receive guests. Kyoka was at a table, clicking away at a laptop and calculator, Haruhi was setting up tea trays, while Mori and Hunny sat at another table, the latter enjoying a plateful of cake.

"That was the whole plan, milord," The twins said in unison. "We were thinking that his selling point would be 'Dangerous'."

Tamaki looked thoughtful as he propped his chin up with a fist, giving Heero another glance over. Finally with a snap of his fingers, he started to issue out orders. "Hikaru, Kaoru, clean him up a bit before the guests come- try brushing out that hair. Kyoya-"

"Already ahead of you, Tamaki," Kyoya responded from his seat. He already posted the idea of having another host on the website to how the female populace would respond. There were already quite a few positive hits.

Tamaki turned to Haruhi. "Help him with the basics, natural," he said with a wink. "It's about time to greet the guests. Places!"

By the time Heero was able to orient everything that was happening; the being pulled into a back room by the twins to be 'freshened up'- which included them trying to brush out his hair and finding out that it didn't want to cooperate so they made it look a stylish messy- to the crash course in the appropriate etiquette and serving techniques given to him by Haruhi, the encouragement from Mori and Hunny- silent by the former and exuberant by the latter- to the calculated profit rundown by Kyoya, and finally the opening of the doors by Tamaki to the rush of girls; he realized he might be in big trouble.

Trouble that couldn't be resolved by a firing of a gun or the piloting of a mobile suit; no, he had to sit there and socialize.

Duo would never let him live this down if he messed up.

* * *

A/N: "Haha! So, the next chapter is going to Heero's first experience at hosting! and of course the trip back to the 'safe house' to brief the other pilots. I would like to make a few things clear; I am basically following the timeline for the Ouran manga, as for the Gundam Wing timeline, I've decided for sure that it happened after Heero and Trowa fought with Zechs at Antarctica but before everyone goes up to space. As for the whole Haruhi boy/girl label- the pilots will have no idea that he is actually a she! I might switch back and forth from referring to Haruhi as 'him' to 'her' but the G-boys will remain clueless until later in the story." cackles "I already have an idea how that is going to work out...

"I know there are a few other things I would like to say but I can't think of them right now... Oh yeah! I need 'hosting types' (example; Tamaki- 'Princely', Kyoya- 'Cool', etc) for the pilots. Heero is the 'Dangerous' type but I need ones for the others.

"Thank you everyone who reviewed and everyone who put this story on alert and/or favorite and everyone who just read it! Basically, thanks for sticking around even though it took forever to put this update up, hopefully the next one won't take as long...

"Please review and tell me what you think, feel free to give suggestions and point out any mistakes or inconsistencies!"

Death


	3. Just For Shits And Giggles

A/N: "Since I forgot to put this up in the last two chapters... I do not own Gundam Wing or Ouran High School Host Club. If I did own either one or both, things might have turned out differently- but I'll keep those thoughts to myself, don't want to scare the kids. XD"

Here's the next chapter!

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Just For Shits and Giggles**_

Heero was completely and utterly out of his element. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Well, he knew what he was doing just not how he got into the situation. No, that wasn't right either; he knew _how _he got into the situation, it was Suoh who pushed him down on a couch in front of a small coffee table and across from another love seat, it was those infernal twins who had dragged him up to the third music room, it was Duo who said he couldn't blend in with people his age, it was Doctor J who gave him the mission in the first place, and it was OZ and the Earth Alliance's fault for starting the damned war that forced him to infiltrate into the school.

If Heero ever had a reason to complain he damn well figured he shouldn't do anything by half. It was best to put the blame where it belonged in the first place.

The girl who had the momentary misfortune of sitting across from the Perfect Soldier fidgeted under the scowl that was inadvertently directed towards her.

"U-um, Heero?" The girl with her blonde hair pulled back into an elegant bun directly across from him stuttered. He quickly pulled her name up from one of the many memorized files on his classmates and older students; Aya Fukuda. "H-how do you like it at the school so far?" Her voice shrank with each spoken word until it was nothing more than the moving of her lips.

Heero was able to understand what her full question by his ability to read lips. It was an ability that helped him numerous times- though he still had yet to decide whether that time Duo broke him out of the Earth Alliance hospital was a good thing or not. "Hn, it's fine."

"Yuy, Yuy, can you not be so intimidating?" Tamaki walked up behind the seated teen and placed a hand on his shoulder. The 'King' didn't seem to notice the sudden tension that shot through the pilot's shoulders, neither had the girls who looked on with stars in their eyes at the Host Club's founder. "You need to have finesse, charm, and a kind disposition that always puts the customer first." Each trait was said with a flourishing hand gesture and he ended up sitting on the armrest of the couch, one client's hand brought close to his lips.

Heero thought the girl was either going to pass out or fry her brain with how red her face became. He brought his eyes up to Tamaki. "Then I guess this isn't the club for me," he said rather tartly but Tamaki still managed to keep talking.

"You certainly have the looks- though maybe not on par with me. Beauty should be admired, as I frequently do- every time I pass my reflection in fact. You have potential. You certainly cover the rugged category and the whole 'bad-boy' act, if it wasn't for your antisocial temperament the girls would be flocking to you instead of observing from a safe distance-"

"Senpai, you're being annoying," Tamaki's rant was cut short by Haruhi's blunt statement.

"Mom! Mom!" Tamaki shouted across the room.

Heero was once again left flabbergasted by the blonde's actions. _Who the hell would call for his mother?_ Only to find, to his surprise, that the person who responded with a look that was more along the lines of 'I'm-only-doing-this-to-humor-you-for-the-time-being-_but_-it-will-get-old-and-I-will-have-retribution' was Kyoya. "Yes, Dad?"

"Haruhi is being bad!" The blonde went running over to the vice president with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Haruhi and Heero watched Kyoya continue to humor Tamaki, while the twins came over and further teased him. It soon ended up that the Host Club king was chasing Hikaru and Kaoru around the room with many of the girls squealing over the circumstances.

Haruhi turned to the group that Heero was supposed to be entertaining. "Is it alright if I joined you?"

The girl, Aya, who had inquired of Heero's thought on the school nodded eagerly and scooted over to make room for the scholar student. "Please, join us."

"You're so sweet," Haruhi replied.

Heero watched the boy smile and couldn't help but feel he was hiding something. The movements he took were careful and refined- but at the same time looked so simple. Haruhi would refill the cups with tea all the while paying apt attention to everything that was said by the girls. He finally glanced up to look at the undercover soldier. "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, Yuy."

"Please do, Heero," the girl next to him on his left implored. Mirai Yashima- Heero's memorized files supplied.

"We would love to hear your story," said the other girl on his side; Keiko Han. Their former trepidation seemed nonexistent now that Haruhi was there to balance things out with his social charm.

Heero paused for a second, wondering just how much he should say. He wasn't sure if any of the girls would do a background checks on anything he would say- that seemed more like Kyoya's line of work. Even if his background was reviewed, everything would check out; he personally made sure that there would be no discrepancies. But it was the thought of just how much information would be enough to satisfy their curiosity to avoid the trouble of revealing his whole fake past. Finally, he answered, "My father was an engineer who helped with the design of the Aries mobile suit."

Keiko seemed to brighten. "Really? My father helped supplied the Specials with the needed materials. Maybe they met? What is your father's name?"

"Hajime Yatate, he died before the completion, when I was still young."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Aya commented from her spot next to Haruhi. "Then is Yuy your mother's name?"

"Yeah," Heero confirmed. "No relation to the pacifist Heero Yuy," he added just for clarification. He didn't get any reaction from that tidbit of information. Surely they knew about the assassination of Heero Yuy? Didn't they? Just how sheltered are these people?

They all observed him with confused expressions—except maybe for Haruhi who seemed to recognize the name but nothing more substantial.

"What does your mother do?" Mirai inquired.

"She's dead as well."

The girls all gasped while Haruhi took a small sip from his cup. "I understand where you're coming from. I lost my mother when I was little as well." He looked up and gave a genuine smile to the group. "But I know she's proud and will continue watching over me as I'm sure your mother is doing the same."

Heero had a very brief flash of _something_. He didn't know what it was, maybe it was the idea of actually being able to know one's mother before losing her, but it disappeared as quickly as it came and he thought nothing more of it.

All the girls who were within hearing distance cooed and awed at Haruhi's statement and they started to amass around the two boys, giving their sympathy and encouragement. Even some of the other Host Club members made their way over to the group.

"If you want, you can hold my Bun-Bun, Hee-kun," Hunny remarked, holding out the pink, stuffed bunny to the soldier; only to have Heero recoil away from him and wordlessly decline the offer.

Mori nodded and placed what was to be a comforting hand on Heero's shoulders. However, the action only frayed Heero's nerves even more because if he tensed and followed his soldier's instincts, Mori would no doubt recognize him for what he was.

"Haruhi, you're so kind!" Hikaru exclaimed; throwing his arms around the girl disguised as a boy from behind the couch.

"You're so sweet!" Kaoru followed, embracing her as well. Apparently the two of them managed to escape Tamaki's desperate attempt at catching them and teaching them a lesson.

"You can quit it, you're still not coming to my house," Haruhi remarked. The twins had their cheeks pressed against her own and only moved their eyes to stare at Heero. Their stare was calculating and searching but it was only to be interrupted by Tamaki.

"Leave Haruhi alone!" The blonde started up the chase after the twins again when they relinquished their hold on Haruhi and took off at a run. He suddenly stopped short and his eyes brightened. Whipping around, he turned to Heero- who wanted to get the hell out of the room- and pointed a finger in a pose of exclamation. "I got it! You need a lovely item!" He tapped his cheek with a slender finger in thought. "Or something of the like. You need someone else to balance out your… well, your harshness, to make you seem less menacing."

"Are you saying Haruhi is that candidate?" Kyoya asked mildly.

"Lovely item?" Hunny questioned from Mori's shoulders who nodded in agreement for an explanation.

"Never mind that!" Tamaki shouted. "And I will not allow Haruhi to-"

"Are you my keeper now?" Haruhi sat in a metaphorical dark cloud. Her voice was icy as she looked up at Tamaki, who took a few steps back in fear. Even the girls who were still around watched the spectacle in awe.

Heero watched everyone. The twins were laughing at Tamaki's misfortune as he crumpled up in the corner, hugging each other as they tried to stay on their feet, Kyoya sipped at his tea while the other hand typed at his laptop, Mori and Hunny remained glue together, and Haruhi was being 'comforted' by many of the girls at Tamaki's remark.

_They're all fucking crazy!

* * *

_

Wufei decided to occupy the only bedroom for the time being. The second bedroom could no longer be called a 'bedroom' since that was where Heero had set up his computer/security room. The four of them were now waiting for Heero to return from the school so they could discuss the mission and sleeping arrangements. The whole day had consisted of cleaning, supplying, scouting, reviewing, and preparing.

Now that everything was completed- or as much as it could be without Heero—Wufei made it clear to the others he would like a half hour alone and so far, Duo was actually complying with that request. He didn't worry about Trowa or Quatre; they would not dare to disturb him unless it was a matter of life or death. Duo, on the other hand, lived to annoy him.

He shook his head, trying to brush away the thoughts. He had the peace and quiet to mediate in- or at least quietly reflect- he was not going to jinx that by thinking of the braided menace. Duo could probably sense it when someone is thinking about him and will come barging in just to see what it is about.

The pilot of the Shenlong Gundam took a deep breath, settling himself more comfortably on his knees and closed his eyes. It was a little strange that Heero had yet to show up. Wufei hoped that it was just the Wing pilot's paranoia that was making him late; staying behind and checking every inch of the school for whatever that he believe could blow the undercover mission.

And Wufei really wished he could stop his mind from wandering.

"Heero!"

Wufei cringed as the American's voice rang out through the house, and no doubt through the rest of the neighborhood. Letting out a sigh, he unfolded himself from the floor to meet the returning pilot; knowing that he wouldn't get any mediating done now.

"Hey, Heero?"

Duo's voice still carried and it made Wufei pause. The inflection sounded serious, and when Duo was being serious it meant things were bad. As extra insurance, Wufei grabbed his sword. One hand tightly gripped the hilt while the other held the sheath to allow for a quick draw. With his ancestral blade in hand, he felt more comfortable to face whatever news Wing's pilot had. His feet carried him swiftly and silently down the hall to the kitchen where everyone was gathered. Did Heero actually look shaken?

"Heero?" Quatre spoke up, a hand lingering over his heart and a quizzical expression creasing his brow.

Heero placed his school bag on the counter and gave the unspoken, tactical leader his attention. With a curt nod he responded to the implied question in Sandrock pilot's eyes. "It's more like culture shock," he explained gruffly. "I've successfully managed to integrate into the school and found a way to get close to most of the target students in one area."

Wufei sighed; that's Heero for you, everything for the mission. He loosened his grip on the sword and took a seat on one of the barstools that were lined up along the counter. Trowa was sitting in the other one, a stack of papers- that suspiciously looked like profiles on some of the teachers- were pushed off to his side to make room for Heero's bag. Quatre was standing directly across from Wufei's chosen seat; a towel in his hands to dry some of the dishes they had recently disinfected. Duo was on the other side of the counter closest to Heero, leaning forward on his elbows, a strange expression curling his features into a devilish smirk.

_God help us all…_ Wufei absently prayed when he saw Duo take a breath to speak.

"And what would this 'way' be, Heero?" He pressed, already guessing where Heero's discomfort was coming from if the smirk was anything to go by.

Heero's face darkened dangerously as he stood at the end of the counter but he knew Duo would pay no attention to the warning signs so he just responded with an answer; though a vague one, "You'll find out tomorrow; no doubt they'll drag you in as well."

"Aw, Hee-chan!"

Wufei could never figure out how someone could make a two syllable nickname sound so long. And annoying.

"Tell me!" Duo pleaded, even grabbing on to the sleeve of Heero's school uniform.

Wufei watched Deathscythe's pilot give the sleeve a tug, rocking back and forth on his heels as he gazed at Heero with the 'kicked-puppy' expression that would most likely work on bleeding hearts and women. _Nataku probably would have fallen for it…_ He tightened his hand into a fist and slowly released it, along with the short trip down memory lane. His return to reality found him witnessing a scene where Heero ripped his arm out of Duo's grasp to take a swing at the L2 native. Duo just laughed as he avoided the halfhearted gesture, all the while throwing more taunts, shifting around Heero like a cat that twines between someone's legs to get attention.

Quatre shook his head and went back to drying, a small smile due to the circumstances. Trowa grabbed the stack of files and tapped them on the counter to straighten them out. He regarded Wufei with his one visible eye. "Are you done in the bedroom?"

Wufei nodded and watched him head down the hall.

"Did all the girls fall in love with you at first sight, Hee-chan?" Duo was trying to press as many of the Prefect Soldier's buttons as possible- and it seemed he was doing a pretty good job at it. "Like Relena? Do we have to worry about any of them stalking you with some sort of death wish?"

Wufei came to the conclusion Duo probably was- and no doubt still is- the type of kid who would press the buttons for every single floor in elevator full of important officials and business men just for shits and giggles.

* * *

Duo was amused. And when he was amused, it was usually at someone else's expense. Sure, he was worried when Heero had first walked through the small apartment's door. The deer-in-the-headlights look didn't really suit the Wing pilot.

Okay, never mind, so maybe it did suit him. It was almost priceless, just as long as whatever caused that look didn't jeopardize any mission. But since there was no immediate threat of exposure, Duo was going to milk it for all it's worth. So, eliciting that look from 'culture shock', as it were, the expression looked damned funny on Heero's normal 'I'm-a-impenetrable-wall-of-ice-nothing-fazes-me' visage.

Now, if it- whatever it was since culture shock was too mundane an explanation- would work on Trowa, it would complete the set of those who have enough emotional depth to fill a thimble.

Why a thimble? Because it was entertaining visualizing either of them trying to sew something, like a quilt or a sweater. Or would that be knitting and not sewing?

Duo mused on that for a while as he listened to Heero's boring and uneventful mission brief. _That guy could make the fact that the moon was blown up sound boring…_ Duo grumbled internally. His contemplating did bring up another thought, which was that the others seem to underestimate him when it comes to multi-tasking. He could put together a bomb, sing Czechoslovakia's national anthem- a country that had been dissolved over a century ago, think about the latest soap opera episode he watched while waiting for his next mission, and process and calculate the estimate time of arrival for reinforcements- all that the same time.

He felt that his talent was underappreciated.

Wufei wouldn't even acknowledge it as talent in the first place.

"It appears that most of the students at the school don't know who the pacifist Heero Yuy was," Heero commented.

That definitely caused Duo's trains of thoughts to derail and crash into one another. "You're kidding, right?"

Heero shook his head as a negative.

"Romefeller has exclusive control over the school," Trowa remarked, coming out of the bedroom to join the others in the living room. "Most of the teachers are paid by Romefeller funds. Many of them seem to be active supporters of OZ. So, it's not surprising that much of the colonies' history is omitted, especially the parts that show the Alliance and Romefeller in a bad light." He dropped the stack of papers he was examining earlier on the coffee table.

"The Doctors didn't have that in their intel," Quatre noted, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "They're too thorough to miss that tidbit, so why didn't they inform us?"

"A test?" Wufei suggested.

"They're just playing games with us," Duo crossed his arms over his chest. "They knew we would have figured it out, why else would they have all five of us infiltrate a school if not to strike a blow at OZ and Romefeller?"

"Hn,"

"Whatever their reason," Quatre sighed, "we still need to fulfill our mission. There must be something important at this school."

Wufei spoke up again, "The students are children of many influential people and the eventual successors to many important names; they are the ones who will clean up the mess made by their fathers- the mess of this war."

"Wait, wait, wait," Duo waved his hands to get everyone's attention, "are you saying that the Mad Five want us to influence these kids to help build a peaceful world?"

"It's a good theory," Trowa shrugged. "There have been very few missions after the Siberia incident. Maybe this is a chance to recover under the guise of students- with the added benefit of gathering intelligence on Romefeller."

"Hello, did everyone forget that we're Gundam pilots? How the hell are we supposed to teach children peace when we barely know the meaning of the word! There's no way we can hold up these aliases, especially with our types of reflexes, for an extended period of time." The braided teen stalked about the room in frustration.

"Duo, we're fighting for peace," Quatre admonished. "Though our battles are miserable ones, we're still fighting for a world with no more battles. Besides, I thought you would take this as some sort of challenge to your skill." The last sentence was the calculated move; Duo didn't like to think that he was prideful, but the self-proclaimed Shinigami did have a few issues when he was blatantly challenged.

"Right now we should focus on the task at hand instead of trying to figure out subliminal messages in our orders," Heero interrupted the argument that was waiting to grow seeing that Duo had a retort ready. "It's not a mission yet. Once it becomes part of our orders, then we will worry about it."

Lacing his fingers behind his head, Duo breathed out the retort with a sigh, allowing the interrupted argument to die. "Keep focus on the task at hand, right?" A grin split his face.

Wufei groaned, figuring that Duo's current 'task at hand' was to further irritate Heero. It seemed the Quatre and Trowa had the same idea as well.

"Before we get to that," Quatre cut in when he saw that Duo obviously planned to continue his previous teasing, "we should discuss the sleeping arrangements. Heero, you'll probably want to sleep in the security room, correct?" The blonde received an affirmative. "Two people can fit in the bedroom, another cot can be set up in the security room, and the remaining person can get the couch."

"I'll take the extra cot," Trowa spoke up before Duo could volunteer, only to have Deathscythe's pilot stick his tongue out at him.

"I refuse to share a room with Maxwell," Shenlong's pilot insisted.

"You're so mean, Fei!" Duo sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll sleep on the couch, all alone and cold, while the rest of you have someone to be comforted-"

Wufei actually managed to get a swipe at Duo's head and connect rather harshly. "Don't be disgusting."

Duo had a shit-eating grin plastered across his face as he tenderly rubbed the spot where Wufei had hit him. "I'm just messing with you, geez, no sense of humor at all."

"I'm going to finish setting up security," Heero announced, deeming the sleeping arrangements were all set and they no longer needed him.

"I'll come with you!" Duo bolted after the other soldier.

Quatre allowed himself to relax back against the couch, but his brow kept on furrowing in thought. He couldn't stop wondering what exactly the Doctors were planning. Wufei's theory made perfect sense to him, if a little too noble for the creators of the Gundams.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Quatre," Trowa remarked, picking up the files he had earlier placed on the coffee table.

"Heero can take care of himself," Wufei said gruffly. He obviously misinterpreted what he thought he saw on Quatre's face, but apparently Trowa knew exactly what he was thinking.

"I know," Quatre replied; a sufficient answer for both of their comments.

* * *

Heero immediately took a seat in the computer chair positioned in front of three different computer screens. He punched in a number of sequences to get into the systems and began upgrading the last of the network securities, intruder systems, and other safeguards he thought were needed and necessary.

Duo, of course, followed. He leaned forward on the back of Heero's chair. "So, can you tell me what's got you so uptight about this school?" he asked, watching him over his shoulder. Almost too conveniently, his braid slipped off his own shoulder to whack Heero on the side of the face. "I mean you usually walk around with a stick up your ass, but why can't you just spill the details on what happened!" He voice ended up in a whine.

Heero gritted his teeth. Duo would definitely fit well with the Host Club. Too well.

In a last attempt to deter the braided pilot from continuing his annoyance streak, Heero jerked the rope of hair next to his face, hard enough to cause an indignant yelp from the other pilot. Duo's face ended up alongside of Heero's and the Perfect Soldier turned his head slightly to stare eye-to-eye, noses scant millimeters apart. His glare was scalding, to say the least. "You. Will. Find. Out. Tomorrow," he said in a level and cold tone; words separated by a brief pause to make sure they sunk in.

Duo blinked, caught off-guard for a small moment.

A moment that didn't last long enough for Heero. He watched as the corners of the strangely tinted eyes crinkle in amusement and could guess a smirk was curling up the other's face- but he wasn't about to go cross-eyed just to double check that his accurate assumption was true.

"It doesn't mean I won't stop bugging you for the rest of the night," Duo actually winked at him and then he was gone. Somehow he had managed to slip his braid out of Heero's grip without him noticing. Duo walked lightly to the door like a drifting shadow, before the door shut quietly behind him.

Even though it was a reoccurring thought, Heero really was dreading when Duo finally met the twins.

"God damned adrenaline junkie."

* * *

A/N: "So, next time is Duo's turn at school! Haha! I have a feeling that's the part most of you are waiting for; the inevitable meeting of Duo and the Twins, all at the rest of the school's expense. Hopefully I won't let anyone down when it comes down to it.

"Speaking of Duo, I had a friend read this and she suggested I made Duo too much of an ass. What do you guys think? Personally, I kinda see his character/personality like that; devil-may-care, highstrung, toeing-the-line, one extreme to the other, and of course once the colonies' betray them all- vindictive and vengeful. Though, he's always been kinda vengeful in the first place... I don't know. His character is hard to write because he has a myriad of emotions and he changes them at a tip of a hat, but trying to keep that lie of a smile on his face. That's why he's so much like the twins- I mean, come on, don't tell me I'm the only one who thought the twins were/are assholes themselves through OHSHC- but I still love them all the same.

"Note: Trowa is a pain to write. End note.

"Note: Wufei needs more love, he usually gets shoved in the background. End note.

"Did anyone notice anything familiar about the names I used for Heero's 'father' and the girls he was entertaining? If you did, congratulations you _might_ win something! If you didn't, I'll spill the details next chapter.

"I know I mentioned something about pairings in the very first author's note; since I hold executive decision, I decided that there probably won't be any blatant pairings. There'll be those hints of HaruhixTamaki and HaruhixHikaru and others within the Host Club, only because they're present in the manga and play key parts in the manga plot. It depends on how far into the manga series I want to take this.

"This is the last chapter for suggestions for Duo's hosting type! I've gotten a lot of help from you guys and I haven't completely decided yet, so if you still have ideas for Duo, by all means send them in! As for the others, I would still love and appreciate suggestions, I just don't really have to worry about them quite yet.

"Thank you for all the reviews! They all have been very encouraging and whatnot. I'm glad you're all enjoying this. See you next chapter!

"Reviews are encouraging, critiques are valuable, and suggestions are appreciated!"

Death


	4. It Was Inevitable

_**Chapter 4: It Was Inevitable…**_

Duo actually didn't bug Heero for the rest of the night, even though he said he would. That didn't mean he lied. He did take a few more shots at him but nothing the others weren't used to— everyone was too focused to give Duo much thought, since he, too, was concentrating on his mission parameters. In fact, Duo only ended up doing things half-heartedly. Wufei would be in for a surprise when he woke up, though.

It wasn't until three in the morning that everyone finally made their way to their respective sleeping arrangements. Duo flung himself unceremoniously onto the couch; one arm half-dangling over the back, a leg propped up on the armrest, and the other foot tapping a random tattoo on the floor. He un-tucked his braid from underneath him and let it drape over the armrest his head was resting against. His eyes finally slipped closed and Duo drifted off into a light sleep.

His body relaxed, the tapping of his foot slowed until it finally stopped. It was more along the lines of 'resting the eyes' than actual sleep; he was aware of everything around him and the noises going on outside— the late night passing of a car or a dog barking at whatever startled it.

The passage of time was quick and the sky was beginning to lighten, causing Duo to stir. Since coming to Earth, Duo found himself aware of the presence of the sun. It could have been because of the horrible night/day cycle on L2, which was nothing more than the slight dimming of the lights. Basically, daylight was a dull and piss yellow while nighttime was a worn grey that used to be black until it was put through the wash far too many times. Or it could have been the artificial light colonists tried to pass off as sunrays; it couldn't hold a candle to the natural thing.

Being born and raised in space, seeing and feeling the sun as it was meant be— through the atmosphere from millions of miles away— was an experience that affected the primeval awe and wonderment which existed in every human. Duo certainly wasn't exempt from the subconscious marvel of the celestial beings; he still would gaze up at the moon when he had the chance, to see it as it was meant to be seen. Not like the view in space, where the moon looked like a graveyard and the sun a blazing ball of instant death. He still questioned whether Heero had ever looked at either illuminating force.

Upon waking, Duo shifted his legs and curled them to his chest before kicking them up and over his head and the armrest of the couch. Despite the awkward angle and lack of proper leverage, he managed a strangely elegant flip— if anyone had been watching— and landed on his feet, lifting his arms up in a gymnast's completion pose.

_Trowa's got nothing on me, _Duo thought. He felt his nifty flip deserved some sort of applause, and since no one had seen it, he played a round of clapping in his head. It was more of a habit than anything. It came from back in his days as a street urchin on L2. The successful feat of pulling off a raid on the local food distribution deserved some recognition, especially if the Earth Alliance was the one supplying the food. So, the internal applause was warranted, since one really couldn't clap aloud, lest they get caught. But inner ego-stroking was almost just as good.

Even though it was early in the morning, the sun just barely cresting over the horizon, and the small amount of sleep he actually managed to get, Duo still felt well-rested and raring to go. It could have been because of his excitement to be in a new and unique setting— a school filled with the richest kids Japan had to offer— but it was more likely that he was just used to the lack of sleep from a hard life and the missions. Besides, the early morning gave him an excuse to drink coffee.

Duo tugged on his slacks, hoping to straighten out the wrinkles and call it good for the day. He did slip off his normal black shirt and throw on the nice, blue polo he had picked up for the mission. The uniform he would get when he officially started school. Running his hands through the messy bangs of his hair, he decided he was good for another day or so before the thick mane got too greasy. At least he didn't have to worry about fixing the braid, since he didn't sleep on it at all.

He walked around the counter to the kitchen and started up the coffee maker plugged in next to the sink, adding the grounds of his faux namesake. Duo waited for his drink to brew while he searched for a clean mug. There was a small chip along the rim of the plain one he grabbed, but it was a sight better than some of the other choices. Standing next to the sink, he balanced the cup on its bottom edge on top of the counter, trying to spin it with his finger on the top curve of the handle.

After a few more minutes of the maker gurgling through its contents, his beverage was ready. Pouring himself a cupful, he leaned forward on the counter with his drink cradled between his hands, absently blowing at the raising steam. He wasn't surprised when Wufei walked out of the hall into the living room/kitchen area. He took a small sip to check the temperature as he watched the Chinese teen.

Wufei wore his traditional, loose white slacks and dark blue tank— forgoing the usual white tunic that topped the outfit. Still, Duo wasn't surprised to see Shenlong's pilot had yet to pull his hair back into the severe ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Once again blowing on his coffee, Duo decided to reevaluate the way Wufei entered the room. 'Walk' just didn't give enough credit to the menacing aura— an aura that would look lovely with a blood red and black background. It was scary and awe-inspiring.

'Prowled'— now that was a good word.

"Maxwell." Wufei stood on the other side of the counter, his hands gripping the edge. Maybe he wanted some type of barrier between them so he wouldn't act on his first impulse, which was to throttle the long-haired teen.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"No." Despite how level and calm Wufei managed to keep his tone, that single word held the promise of pain. "But I would like to have my hair bands."

Duo wanted to give Wufei some of his inner applause because he had yet to resort to shouting, tackling, maiming, or any other type of violence and, since Wufei was Chinese, he probably knew some interesting tortures. Chinese water torture, anyone? It had to run in the blood somewhere. Figuring Wufei wouldn't appreciate it as much as he, himself, would, he felt that some type of reward was still necessary. Reaching into the pocket of his black slacks, Duo pulled out three clear bands and placed them on the counter.

Wufei obviously sensed some sort of foul play— if the way he quickly snatched them was anything to go by— and immediately ran his hands through his hair to pull it away from his face.

Duo sipped at his coffee as he watched the other pilot twist the bands into place, tightly pulling back the black strands. Once he saw his refined comrade complete his task, he made his offer again, "Coffee?"

Looking down at Deathscythe's pilot from the corner of his eye, Wufei considered the offer. "Tea; if you have any."

Duo shrugged and sat up, uncurling his hands from his mug. "I can pull some out."

The Chinese teen nodded his thanks and went to sit on the couch. On the chair next to him was Duo's black messenger bag, already filled with his school supplies and no doubt other necessities, which probably included some type of explosive if Wufei knew Duo. "Please tell me you don't have anything in your bag that could get you—"

"Come now, Wufei, this is me we're talking about." Duo strode around the couch and handed Wufei his tea before setting his bag on the floor to occupy the chair. He placed his own mug on the coffee table. "Of course I have something that could be considered potentially dangerous and cause those nice things I like to call explosions. I don't go anywhere without it." He shrugged, holding up his hands in a nonchalant gesture. Lowering his arms, he bent over to pick his bag off the ground and started to rummage through it. "It's just a matter of putting it together, but I wouldn't worry too much about the potential hazards in my bag; I would worry more about what I'm carrying on my person." Duo's grin was as sharp as a knife, hinting at the soldier who was the self-proclaimed Shinigami; though it would probably be an official title if he actually left any survivors in the first place.

"Maxwell…"

"Hey, it's not like they have metal detectors at the school in the first place. Don't give me that look, Chang." Duo zipped up his bag; his eyes were hard as he stared down Wufei, trying to back him into a proverbial corner by using his glower. "It's the wealthy's fault; they're so damn comfortable in their war-free setting. I did listen to Heero's briefing; it's like they're in a completely different world or dimension— they know nothing of the war going on right outside their mansions! Save for the fact it's making them more money and opening new options for expansion."

Wufei placed his tea on the table— he had yet to even take a sip from it. "If you don't calm down, Duo, I will keep you from going to the school today. We don't need you running around emotional among so many innocents, especially if you are as armed as you say you are."

Duo blinked and the hard set of Shinigami's features seemed to break and fall away; a mask slipping off his face only to be replaced by one more resigned and lost. His shoulders slumped as he reached for his coffee. "I know. It's just frustrating that OZ targeted the colonies at Siberia and we've barely heard anything else from the scientists. I don't even know if the colonies are fighting with us anymore."

The two of them sat in silence, each taking sips of their respective drinks. The thought of the colonies they were fighting for weighed heavily upon them. The colonies were their homes, places to be protected and defended tooth and nail.

But what would be the point of defending a place that didn't want them anymore?

With a stretch, Duo pulled himself up from the chair and tipped back the rest of his coffee. Slinging his bag over his shoulder he walked around the couch to place his empty cup in the sink.

Wufei watched him out of the corner of his eye as Duo made his way towards the door. Bringing his tea to his lips, he muttered around the rim, "You're leaving rather early."

"It's my first day and all," Duo said as he laced up his shoes, tapping the toe against the floor. "I want to make a good impression. I did miss the opening ceremonies, you know."

Wufei took a sip and glanced at the clock on the far wall. "Ah, yes, arriving at six in the morning certainly says something. I doubt the first impression you're hoping to leave will be a good one."

Duo leaned against the wall of the entryway and grinned, waving a finger in Wufei's direction. "Technically, I will be arriving at six, but Duo Maxwell of Maxwell House Coffee Company will, in fact, be arriving around 7:15 like the upstanding student he is; still early but that's because he would like to make sure all his transcripts are in order and perhaps get a tour from a potential target— say Chairman Suoh, for example. Of course, all this will be done by being my normal and lovable self." The grin sharpened as he spoke.

Wufei noticed Deathscythe's pilot was letting his wartime persona slip again and gave him another pointed look before speaking up. "The words 'lovable' and 'upstanding' aren't even close to being synonymous with you, Maxwell."

Duo placed a hand over his heart and threw back his head, like he just took a blow to the face. "How you wound me, Fei." He staggered to add effect and reached out a pleading hand to the other pilot. "I can't go on with such harsh words from you."

"Get out of here, Maxwell, or you'll be late."

"Yeah, yeah, see you around." Duo shifted the bag on his shoulders and turned to head out. He paused and waved. It wasn't directed at Wufei but more towards the ceiling where one of Heero's hidden cameras was located.

Oh, yeah, he could just see the annoyed scowl on Heero's face.

With that done, he went on his way.

* * *

It went without saying, Duo was sorely disappointed in the lack of security at Ouran Academy. So disappointing that he entertained thoughts of participating in some terrorist attack against the school— just to see how everyone would react. Absolutely no metal detectors, no types of security guards, minimal amount of cameras; it was an all-around bore-fest! His hour long sweep didn't even turn up anything interesting; besides the fact the school had far too many rooms for the number of students enrolled. Everything was exactly as Heero's data supplied.

Despite the fact, he found himself being slightly awed at the grandeur of the school; it was massive, elegant, and so expensive-looking it made Duo's fingers twitch in anticipation.

Once a thief, always a thief.

After the initial astonishment had worn off, the place became nothing more than another building to be infiltrated, another check on the mission agenda, and another place to be possibly destroyed. Granted, it was definitely a better furnished one.

By 7:15am on the dot, Duo finally let himself be seen. With a rather confident gait, he strolled up to the main entrance, casting a curious glance at the fountain and pond before entering the high school wing of the school. He waved to the first person he saw, who ended up being the custodian finishing up the last minute polish of the floors before packing everything away in the storage closet. "Howdy!"

The custodian, an older gentleman with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, speckled with grey and white, nearly dropped the mop he had propped against his shoulder. His eyebrows shot up to his receding hairline as he gave his hailer an once-over; taking in the neat clothing, short but wiry stature, and even the long plait of hair.

Duo widened his eyes and looked up through the fringe of his bangs; falling neatly into the innocent 15-year-old persona he had no trouble crafting. "I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. I'm looking for the Chairman's office."

While the man was mildly shocked at the slight shift in demeanor— going from an exuberant greeting to a rather meek inquiry— he heard the faint American accent in the boy's speech and figured the boy was still adjusting to the culture. He gave the teen directions and watched him saunter off.

Duo laced his fingers behind his head as he rounded the corner, already knowing exactly where the office was located. He still had to play his part. He walked along the halls, taking a few more turns and climbing a flight of stairs, all the while glancing at the rooms he passed; mentally listing what each one was used for. The wide windows on his left of the next level gave a nice view into the courtyard, where Duo could see the first of the students arriving. Continuing on his way, he finally came up to a wide set of oak doors and he raised his hand to give a loud, confident knock.

After a short minute, there was a click from the other side and the doors swung open to reveal an older man, probably in his late-forties. His hair was a brown that was just beginning to fade into a grey. It was combed back from the strong features of his face, only softened by the slight wrinkles at the corners of his lips and eyes, easily indicating he was always ready with a laugh. His suit was neatly pressed and Duo guessed it was probably of some Italian make.

Duo couldn't help it; he instantly liked the man for some reason.

"May I help you?"

"Um, hi, you wouldn't happen to be Chairman Suoh by any chance?" Duo asked, playing with the strap of his bag, knowing it would give the look of a nervous teen. "I was told I could find his office around here."

"You found the right guy," he said with a smile. The smile became thoughtful as Chairman Suoh leaned forward to peer at the new student, a curious expression on his face. It was another second before his features brightened in recognition. "You're Duo Maxwell of Maxwell House Coffee, aren't you?" He didn't bother to wait for a reply, motioning the long-haired teen into his office and headed towards his desk.

Duo allowed himself to gaze around the rather grand office. The carpeted room had shelves lining the walls, filled with book and pictures. There was another desk off to the right piled with papers and documents tucked away in manila folders. Despite the messiness, everything managed to look like it was in some semblance of organization. The computer screen next to the folders was running a screen saver of pictures of a blond boy through varies stages of life. Duo thought he could see a hint of the boy's smile in the chairman's face. He turned away from the computer after seeing one of the infamous "naked bottom" pictures parents seemed inclined to take of their babies.

It made Duo slightly relieved he didn't have any of those pictures of himself floating around.

Resuming his inspection of the room, he noted a gold plated globe in a far corner next to a small table that had a crystal chess set upon it. It looked like the pieces were right set up right in a middle of a match and Duo absently wondered if the game would eventually be finished. His mind then wondered off to Quatre playing against the chairman and defeating him in six moves— if that was even possible. He wouldn't really know in the first place; chess wasn't exactly his strong point. If the occasion called for it, he could come up with some mean strategies, but some of the things Quatre came up with on the spot were slightly disconcerting.

He stood next to the chair that was placed in front of the large desk. Despite the expensive detail put into the wooden frame and leather coverings, the chair looked damned uncomfortable. Duo waited for Suoh to sit in his office chair before taking the proffered seat. He finally answered the chairman's previous inquiry. "Yeah, I'm him."

"It's great to have you here!" Suoh suddenly exclaimed, the laugh lines around his eyes and lips crinkled in mirth. "My son has recently discovered the wonders of commoner coffee and here you are, an entrepreneur in the world of common-folk. To him, you will have just bridged the gap between classes, so I do not doubt he will have many questions."

"Um, okay?" Duo raised an eyebrow, not quite sure what to make of the chairman anymore. He remembered Heero considered him an idiot, but Wing's pilot considered _him_ an idiot as well at times. This man had the stern "grandfather" act down; even if he had yet to reach the particular title. Duo could tell he could be scolding one minute and in the next minute he would be the doting and teasing parental figure. Maybe Heero only thought he was an idiot because he was impulsive with his emotions.

"I supposed you want to make sure everything is in order for your first day of classes." Suoh stood up from his chair and proceeded to walk around his desk.

Duo followed the chairman with his eyes as the man made his way over to the desk with the folders and computer. He pulled out one of the top folders, pausing to chuckle at the same naked baby picture of what Duo assumed to be his son. Suoh flipped through some of the papers before returning to his seat, handing Duo a copy.

"Everything looks like it's in order," the chairman remarked, his own eyes going over the sheet of paper. "Your homeroom is listed on that, along with your class president's name, whom you should go to if you have any problems or questions. I know you kids don't always like going to us old people when you have problems," Suoh laughed. He then turned serious, focusing his gaze on the pilot. "Now, about your hair…"

Duo hunched his shoulders; he had a feeling something like this would happen. No matter what, he would not cut his hair, even if it did compromise the mission. He grabbed the tail of his braid, running the brush-like end in his palm. "I don't have to cut it, do I?"

Chairman Suoh kept his gaze on him. He watched the nervous and almost desperate motions the teen made; the running of his hands over the end of the braid, the shifting in his seat, and trying to avoid the chairman's eyes while he deliberated. He waited for a moment longer before letting out a soft sigh. "I can give you permission to keep it. You do seem quite attached to it for some reason."

Duo lifted his head and flashed a grin. "If I told you, then I would have to kill you," he joked.

Suoh laughed. "That's so American!"

Duo wondered what the chairman would do if he found out he really wasn't joking.

He closed the folder and tapped it once on his desk to straighten out the papers inside. "Classes are about to start, so I would suggest to start heading on your way. Ah, do you need any help finding where your classroom is?"

Duo shook his head as he stood from his chair. "I should be fine, thanks though. It was nice to meet ya." He gave a wave and just for the hell of it; cast one more glance at the computer to see what picture came up.

_Hm, wonder if I'll meet the owner of that supple ass, _Duo thought with a smirk as he headed out of the door, leaving the chairman and the naked baby picture of his son.

* * *

The moment Haruhi arrived at school there was a definite a feeling of something being different. The walk through her neighborhood had been pleasant enough; she even saw a sale at the local grocer she was planning on stopping at after school and Host Club activities were done. The train ride was typical— a few passengers gawking at her Ouran uniform and a couple of girls even tried to strike up a conversation; mistaking Haruhi for her male Host Club persona.

It wasn't like Haruhi really minded though. If she did mind, she wouldn't have agreed to join the club in the first place. Then again, she was technically blackmailed since she did break the vase and she still had to clear her debt. It was more like she was resigned to her fate. She certainly didn't see herself as any sort of heroine.

As soon as she walked through the main gates and into the courtyard, that sense of 'dread' hit her. It wasn't necessarily 'dread' in full definition of the word, per se, but the strange clenching of her stomach— the knowing something was up and it would affect her in some way. Call it a woman's intuition.

Haruhi entered the high school wing, still finding herself inwardly awed and minutely disgusted at the flagrant display of grandeur, elegance, and elaborateness. Rich people were annoying at flaunting their wealth and having a whole school full of those type of people was grating on her nerves.

A few students milled about the halls, chatting amongst themselves before classes started. Their conversations usually involved the latest, first class trip they had planned— like a possible trip to the colonies, what types of mergers or partitions were taking place between the companies of the world, or what great things they had planned for the company they will eventually inherit.

"Did you hear? A female student is pretending to be a guy,"

So that was the reason why her stomach was trying to find ways to tie itself into knots. She quickened her pace to her homeroom, bowing her head as some sort of defense and leaving the voices to trail off behind her. Haruhi didn't quite understand why the fact she might be discovered bothered her— the whole thing was really quite troublesome.

"Really?"

"Yeah, her disguise is pretty obvious, especially with…" the student's words were lost as Haruhi turned the corner, moving to the door marked 1-A with what looked like gold filigree inlaid on a polished block of cedar.

"Haurhi!" the twins greeted her as soon as she pushed open the door. They slipped their arms around her shoulders, ignoring the glances from the rest of their classmates. She, once again, came to realize the two of them still kept most of the other students at bay when they weren't in the third music room.

"Have you seen—"

"—the new student?"

Haruhi glanced over to see Heero already in his seat. She knew they weren't talking about him, but she still had to look. The teen sat in his chair with a straight back, arms crossed over his chest in a way that more than likely pulled and stretched the uniform jacket tight across his shoulders. In her opinion, he looked slightly unsettled as he stared down at an open textbook. Maybe 'unsettled' wasn't the right word for it, but she wouldn't go as far to say he was brooding. "Another new student already? I didn't think they would be coming that close together."

The three of them headed to their seats, giving Heero a small greeting as the stood around Haruhi's desk. She piled her books on top of it, waiting for the Hitachiin twins to continue.

"Well, the rumor is that—"

"—another student is supposed to be—"

"—arriving tomorrow," they finished together. "Though it could be the day after."

Haruhi nodded her head as she took her seat, aware of Heero's eyes watching her every move. Hikaru and Kaoru took up perches on the table of her desk, the small pile of books resting between them.

"But about the new student—" Hikaru began again.

"—some students from 1-B swear the new student is a girl," Kaoru finished.

"All the new arrivals were going to be male," they chimed together.

Before Haruhi replied, she heard a faint noise coming from behind her. She could have sworn it came from Heero, but the twins gave no indication they had heard anything. Besides, the noise sounded too much like an amused snort and such a sound coming from Heero didn't quite fit the image of his personality. She decided she was just hearing things and returned her attention to the twins— something they had said definitely piqued her interest. "How do you know that all the arrivals are going to be guys?"

Hikaru and Kaoru pressed their shoulders together and leaned towards her, smiles growing into smirks. "We have our sources." They straightened from their slouch to gaze over Haruhi's head at Heero. "Have you seen the new student?"

"You got here quite early—" Kaoru said.

"—so maybe you caught a glimpse of him," Hikaru ended.

Heero shook his head as a negative. "I wouldn't know if I saw him or not," he said as he uncrossed his arms to turn the page of the book in front of him. Returning his attention to the textbook, he continued his reading, well aware of the twins' gazes. He glanced over the printed words; bored with the current chapter. With his upbringing, he already knew most of what was in it; bar a few tidbits of information, which were trivial at best. Instead, he found himself entertaining thoughts of what Duo's reaction would be if the braided pilot caught wind of the rumor started by those who managed only glimpses of him, questioning whether the new student was either a he or a she. Realizing he was giving himself a luxury of diverting his thoughts to a rather insignificant matter, he returned his focus on the students around him. He certainly didn't miss the subtle glance between the Hitachiin twins. They were honestly too akin to Duo in personality. The problem was, there were already two of them and with Duo thrown in, it would be three times the mayhem.

It was inevitable. Absolutely inevitable.

"Yuy, will you be—"

"—joining us again today?"

Haruhi turned around to face him. "You don't have to participate, Heero, it's not required of you. I'm only doing this because of my debt." She gave a shrug.

Heero wanted to hate himself for even considering what he was about to say, he really did, but it was the best chance there was to gather information on many of the 'high-priority' students— like Ohtori, Haninozuka, and Morinozuka. Even the Suoh family was a high-roller in Romefeller; at least the grandmother. The chairman seemed to be breaking away from many of those ties; concentrating on a more neutral stance. Chairman Suoh actually had a number of building projects within the Lunar Resort; a booming tourist destination for both Earthlings and colonists. It was all thinks to the thriving OZ base on the moon. Recently, Heero also uncovered ongoing negotiations with the L1 colony to start a chain of hotels despite the Earth Alliance blockade. "I'll give the club another try."

"That's good." Hikaru grinned. "We got quite a few new—"

"—customers because you're now part of the line-up," Kaoru said as the two of them lifted their hands in synchronized shrug.

"Besides, we want to win the bet against milord that every one of the new students will fit right in the Host Club," they said, flashing matching grins.

The bell rang, triggering the exodus of students to find their seats. The twins slinked over to their seats on either side of Haruhi, moving in sync with each other so when they finally sat down, it was done so simultaneously. Conversations were beginning to start up again, scattered about the room. They continued to grow as the homeroom teacher had yet to arrive. Many drew the conclusion their teacher was late was because he was probably escorting the new student and the excitement in the room began to build. Discussions began to question who, exactly, the new student was, what he or she looked like, and just how rich he or she was.

Heero had to wonder if this same thing happened before he stepped through the door. Now, it would only be a matter of moments before the inevitable would happen. He wasn't sure if he was quite ready for it yet.

* * *

At the moment, Duo really wished they never got stuck with this mission. Sure, his first impression was along the same lines— being stuck at some school, all five of them together just screamed "five Gundam pilots for the price of one missile deal; target here"— then he read through the parameters. The whole idea of going to an elite school appealed to his street urchin side. He had been to some decent schools due to his missions— even attended one with Heero— but this was Ouran; the very best of the best.

It was like nothing he had ever experienced. The elegance, the majesty, and the plain representation of money was enough to make the poor war orphan reevaluate his life; imagining the 'what ifs'. If he had been born into this type of life instead of a half-starved brat who had to fight the rats for a scrap of food; if he had one-eighth of the weekly allowance these kids got— or even one-sixteenth— just how much better would his life had been?

Those thoughts were quickly shaken away by the fact that he would have turned out to be an entirely different person; never meeting the people who had changed his life in the first place.

Now, all Duo wanted to do was shoot the mission to hell, because the homeroom teacher was giving him hell, and he was on the verge of causing hell.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Maxwell, but your hair is unacceptable," the teacher remarked, barring the entrance to the room. An older gentleman with stern features, a slight paunch, and puffy white hair who was obviously missing the warning signs leading to an irate Shinigami.

"I already talked with Chairman Suoh about my hair, sir," Duo said through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing as he slid on foot back as a reflex to better balance himself for a fight or flight.

The thought of him running away from _this _teacher was unimaginable. In fact, it should be the other way around.

Duo hoped the teacher could run fast, it would make the chase so much more exciting, especially with the added bonus of the old man being a lesser Romefeller official, but part of Romefeller nonetheless.

"It is indecent for a young man, such as yourself, who is an heir to a prestigious company to have such…" the old man fumbled for the word, "such… ridiculous hair!"

"'Ridiculous'?" Duo repeated. It was amazing how one, fairly innocent word could sound so menacing.

The day had started out reasonably decent; even with Wufei warning him about his 'toys' and telling him to keep himself in check. But the problem with Shinigami making a debut wasn't necessarily his fault—the blame could just as easily be placed on Professor G and the others. They were the ones to give them such a long-term mission in the first place. Granted, there wasn't much the pilots could do to help out with the colonies' quest for independence with OZ taking drastic measures during the Siberia fiasco. The fear of any type of resistance from the Gundam pilots could cause the destruction of one of their homes.

Duo had high hopes for the rest of the day when Chairman Suoh gave him permission to keep his long hair. Of course, the hope he had was quickly diminishing and the decent day was fast turning into one where Shinigami would love to come out and play.

Wufei already scolded him for that; he didn't need to hear it again.

The fact remains, no one called his hair ridiculous without some form of retribution.

However, there were four who Duo knew thought his hair was ridiculous and were the only ones who could say such a thing to his face. Quatre probably could sense every single emotion surrounding the braid with his unique empathy—not that he would do so on purpose. Heero couldn't care less, just as long as it didn't interfere with the mission. One couldn't tell with Trowa, but he was the one who joined a circus troupe, using his job as a clown for cover, which was quite ridiculous in of itself. As for Wufei, he had long hair as well, though not as long. Duo was going out on a limb thinking maybe Wufei wore it long for something other than traditional reasons. Then again, Wufei did seem to walk around with a stick permanently wedged up his ass so traditions may be the only reason.

But they understood there was a reason behind the length; they understood the emotional weight it represented. The braid was a constant reminder of his sins and the outcome of those sins; the Maxwell Church Massacre, the death of Father Maxwell and Sister Helen.

This stupid, impudent, little maggot had _absolutely _no right to call his hair 'ridiculous'.

Duo's face fell into a superior sneer, lips curling into a grin-like bearing of teeth and half-lidded eyes peering out from beneath dark lashes. He somehow managed to pull off looking down his nose at the teacher who was a whole head taller than him. "If you have a problem with my hair," he said in a rather pleasant tone, "take it up with Chairman Suoh. Otherwise, I believe you have a class waiting for you to introduce their newest addition."

He couldn't help it; the elderly man just took that unconscious step back even though Duo hadn't even moved an inch. Sheer presence and words alone scared him into submission. He shook himself and ignored the shaking of his knees, trying to pass it off as a sudden onset of Parkinson's or anything besides fear. Anyone in the education system knew you couldn't run a classroom room when the teacher's afraid of one of the students. Things just didn't work. Chairman Suoh actually provided insurance against any of the more over-zealous parents who felt their students were somehow getting shunted. Teachers were mostly protected against any sort of legal action or some sort of economic sanction.

Unless it was complete stupidity on the teacher's part; then they were in the fast-sinking boat alone, with no life vests, and the sharks circling nearby.

Duo eyed the teacher as he edged to the door, trying not to give his back to the threat of Shinigami in front of him. Waiting until the old man's hand finally found the door and he quickly slipped inside, Duo let his dark visage drop.

He had a feeling the teacher wouldn't bother him over his hair anymore.

In the minute it took for the old man to find his voice again to announce the newest student to the class had arrived, Duo readjusted his bag on his shoulder and shifted into a slight slouch. The previous sneer was replaced with a lazy and infectious grin. He took the announcement as he cue to enter the classroom.

The teacher had moved to his desk to keep the distance between them while Deathscythe's pilot stood in front of his classmates with that carefree attitude of his securely in place. Unbeknownst to him, Duo's eyes followed the exact path Heero's had the day before—checking exits, possible trip-ups, what would happen if an attack came from the windows, among other things. He managed a quick study of the faces of his classmates, recognizing a few from the profiles and data.

He completely skipped over Heero.

"That's either one effeminate guy—" one of the twins in the back remarked rather loudly. He lounged in the desk on Heero's left in the next row up.

The other twin easily picked up where his brother had left off with no break or pause, as if the sentence was being said by one person and not split between two persons, "—or one masculine girl." The two of them shared a smirk over the head of the petite boy between them.

Now, Duo was rather irked by the fact the topic of his gender was current mystery of the school. He was quite certain of the fact that he was a guy. He did not look anything like a girl. The only thing maybe giving off that impression was his hair. And maybe his height. And maybe his slim frame.

Deathscythe's pilot let his smile widen, putting forth all his charm for scrutiny with that one gesture and his next phrase, "Hey, ya'll, I'm Duo Maxwell, nice to meet ya!" If anyone still had doubts about his sex, his voice was a definite giveaway. He let his L2 drawl thicken, creating a slight twang to his voice that could possibly be mistaken for the hint of a New Jersey accent.

It took a lot of effort for Duo to refrain from adding his tagline with his introduction—"I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie." If people wanted to get technical they could say he was telling a lie by taking the alias that was provided to him. However, if he managed to twist the wording into some interesting shapes it wouldn't completely be a lie, at least in his own mind and that's what really counted.

Starting with the Maxwell House Coffee thing; he was technically from a Maxwell House—though it was actually a church, but churches are called the houses of God, so in a way it was a Maxwell House of God. The coffee was a bit of a stretch, but if God stayed up six days creating the heavens and the earth, coffee had to have been involved in some way since he probably had a caffeine crash on the Seventh Day and rested. Caffeine might be the explanation for some of the stranger things in the world like the platypus. Seriously, would it have been created on the Fifth Day as a creature of the seas or on the Sixth Day with the rest of the land animals? Or possibly on the stroke of midnight to fit the best of both worlds. But what exactly did it say about _Homo sapiens_ being the last thing to be created; was God too tired to create something out of nothing that he just decided to use dust? Maybe it's the reason why there are some people who turn out like Professor G.

As for the whole explanation of his late arrival, which was the mess of the unions and agreements, the unions could be a code name for some of the OZ and Earth Alliance bases he had recently hit and some of his other previous missions. The military was kind of like some union force. He did manage to set up some agreements, but those only worked in his favor since the destruction of a base is hardly a good thing for the 'union workers'.

Lastly, his 'father' did send him to school to expand the coffee industry, which could be code for information on OZ and Romefeller, and look for possible trade arrangements and agreements, which could be the coaxing of some of the students to spill details on what's being planned. Of course, he would never willingly call Professor G, also known as Pestilence, father. The thought of him spawning only gave Duo the willies.

'Willies' was definitely the only appropriate word for it.

A number of the girls in the room were sighing and giving him rather 'predatory' looks. Their whispers were beginning to fill the room as Duo waited for some sort of instruction from the teacher as to where he should sit.

"He's so handsome!"

"I wonder how he manages with that hair."

"Oh! His accent!"

"He looks like he should be some rogue or Highwayman—all dashing!"

"They might do that cosplay in the Host Club! I wonder if he'll join."

"Most definitely!"

Duo tucked away the information he garnered from the increasing whispers that were steadily growing louder; curious as to what they were implying. He noticed out of the corner of his eye the homeroom teacher made a gesture to one of the students and a boy with dark hair and glasses walked up to him.

The boy was quite scrawny with a timid air about him as he held out his hand for Duo to shake. "I'm Kazukiyo Soga, the class president."

Duo clapped their hands together and gave a firm shake. "I would introduce myself again, but that would be rather redundant. Now that I think about it, so would saying, 'Nice to meet ya'." He gave the room a meek glance before returning his gaze to the other teen. "So, prez, any idea where I'll be sitting? Apparently teach here isn't being very forthcoming with the info."

"When the girls get like this," Kazukiyo said as he motioned to the fawning female half, "you kinda just have to wait it out. Besides, we usually use the first couple of minutes of First Period to have announcements and discuss business."

"I see."

"Here, I'll show you where you're going to sit and introduce you to your neighbors." The class president led him down a row of desks, their progress slow as students would come up and greet the new student.

Compared to Heero's arrival, no one had fainted and Duo didn't give off the impression of 'stay away' like Heero did.

Kazukiyo brought him to the empty desk on Heero's right. "This is your seat. To your left is Heero Yuy, another transfer student who arrived yesterday, in front of him is Haruhi Fujioka, the scholarship student, and to either side of him are the Hitachiin twins."

"Yo," the twins said together in greeting as they turned in their seats to face Duo. The looks they were giving him were appraising; studying him like he was some new toy to play with.

"Good luck trying to tell them apart," Kazukiyo continued. "I think the one you're sitting behind is Hikaru so the other one is Kaoru." He paused and peered between the two Devil types. "But I could be wrong."

"The one in front of you, Maxwell, is Kaoru, the other one is Hikaru," Haruhi remarked.

"Thanks for the advice, prez, and thanks for the help, Fujioka," Duo said setting his bag down before turning to Heero. "So, you're new here too—Heero, is it?" There was a glint in Duo's eyes. "Maybe we could hang out—we new students have to stick together, ya know." His smile looked innocent to the bystanders, the class president was nodding happily seeing that the new additions seemed to be hitting it off, but Heero knew it was anything but.

The smile and the stare that went along with it were the same as the ones Duo gave him when the braided teen suggested they have a race to see who could destroy an OZ base first. Only this time the challenge was the same self-imposed challenge from the previous evening—find out what had unnerved Heero.

Kaoru walked up to Duo's left and placed an arm around his shoulder. A second weight was added when Hikaru joined his brother. "I think I like this one, Kaoru,"

"I certainly agree," Kaoru said. "Milord will be pleased.

Duo had felt the twins close in on him during his one-sided conversation with Heero. Their weight on his shoulders was nothing, even when they leaned forward to press their cheek against his. It was hard to say he wasn't bothered by their proximity, but he managed to casually slump back into their arms.

He could play along.

"Who's this lord?" Duo asked. "Don't tell me I have to bow down to someone here, because that just won't fly."

The twins placed their hands on top of his head, pointedly reminding Duo that almost every guy in the classroom was taller than Heero and himself by a few inches. "You'll meet him eventually."

Good 'ole colony stock genetics.

There was also the theory that because space was not humanity's true home; colonists tended to have developmental problems in both physical and mental growth. They just weren't growing—if you want to get religious—as God intended. But to throw religion out of the picture; artificial environments just weren't the same as the natural one.

It seemed most of the girls in the class didn't mind Duo and Heero were on the short side. If their whispers were anything to go by, they seemed to be quite partial to the fact they could look them directly in the eye and that made them all the more appealing.

Duo watched Kazukiyo head back to his seat as the teacher finally stood up to start gathering everyone back, since he had no more announcements and the only business anyone was bothering to discuss was Duo. The old man did his best to avoid the undercover soldier's gaze. Apparently, Shinigami made quite the impression. Duo slipped out of the twins' thin embrace to final plop in his seat next to Heero. One of the twins plopped down in front of him. If Duo remembered correctly, he believed Fujioka called this one Kaoru. The one he assumed to be Kaoru glanced over his shoulder to study him one last time. His eyes did a quick sweep of Duo's frame before a smirk widened.

Deathscythe's pilot pondered over the examination, while giving his own grin in return. Once the twin turned around in his seat, Duo cast a small glance over at Heero out of the corner of his eye to find the 01 pilot scowling. _These Hitachiin twins are part of what Heero wouldn't tell me and I have a feeling it might have something to do with this Host Club many of the girls have mentioned. But if it is this Host Club that's gotten Heero uptight, why would he even go along with it? _Duo pulled a notebook and pen out of his bag and began to doodle on the cover, tracing the letters proudly declaring there were '70 Sheets'. _Maybe this club ensures contact with some of the major Romefeller targets…_ His thoughts were immediately cut off when the classroom door banged open.

Luckily Duo and Heero were sitting in the way back, so no one could see their sudden reflex of reaching for a gun. At least they were able to curb the impulse to kick up a desk for extra cover.

A tall blonde stood in the doorway, his chest was heaving as he fought to catch his breath. "Where is he?" he panted, brushing his hair out of his face, and tried to compose himself from the sprint he must have went at from his classroom to this one.

The girls in the room squealed.

The teacher had been in the middle of opening his mouth to start class when the student had barged in and he was on the verge of starting another sentence when he was interrupted by more of his students.

The girls rushed towards the blonde in a swarm exclaiming, "Tamaki!" as they went.

Tamaki brushed back his hair from his face one more time before turning his brilliant smile to the girls surrounding him. "I heard there's another new student," he grabbed one girl's hand and brought it to his lips, "and I was hoping I could meet him," he murmured around her knuckles.

The girl flushed bright red. "O-of course!"

Before the surrounding girls had a chance to point out the new arrival a loud bark of laughter came from the back of the room, interrupting the details they were about to disclose.

Tamaki's eyes were drawn to the teen next to the Dangerous Type Heero and behind one of the Devil Type Twins. His braid trailed down his back, hanging just past the seat as he was doubled over his desk, still laughing about something. He sat up to meet Tamaki's gaze, a rather charming smile on his face that could match Tamaki's any day, but the mischievous glint in his eyes spoke of something akin to the antics of the twins. "So you're the owner of that ass!"

* * *

A/N: "I'm finally got the next chapter up! Sorry for the long wait... I kept on getting distracted by "Mad"ness. Since I did promised to get this chapter up by the middle of July and failed miserably, I made this one a little bit longer. I don't know whether or not chapters are going to continue to be this length, shorter, or even longer. I guess we'll just have to see where things go.

"Hopefully I did Duo's character justice. I tried to tone down the whole "assholeness" but I have a feeling it's going to come back full force once he and the twins get going, and that's one train I wouldn't stand in front of-- not that I stand in front of trains or anything. But I had so much fun trying to figure out his reasoning for thinking that taking an alias wasn't telling a lie! Why, yes, I am proud of that section XD.

"Those who are fans of the other pilots, like Trowa and Quatre, don't worry, they'll get their screentime!

"As for Duo's hosting type; it has been decided on and will be revealed next chapter. There was a fairly obvious hint on what it's going to be... But now the next one to decide for is Trowa, so if you still have suggestions for him, feel free to say something!

"I think that's mostly all what I wanted to say... Oh, yeah! I honestly can't even guess when I think I'll be able to get the next chapter up, hopefully before school starts up, because with 16 credits and a job I don't know when I'll be able to write recreational. But I _can_ promise I won't go on a 2 year hiatus.

**_Acknowledgments:_**

Special thanks to **Strata-Assassin **for the beta. She's always been sort of a driving force behind some of my stories and a really good soundboard to bounce back ideas. And here's some special advertisement for her; "If you're a fan of Gundam SEED and looking for something other the mundane romances and something with a little bit of everything and a lot of bit of action; check out Weapon's Waltz!" It starts out kinda slow but once you get to the main SEED story it really picks up. Read, if you don't mind OCs.

Thanks **wind dancer 1981** for lovely and encouraging messages!

I don't know whether I should be thanking **Maderfole **or not for being a horrible distraction *shrugs* ^.^

And **hittocerebattosai**, thank you for pointing out my tendency to Americanize. I'll probably go back and rewrite the first chapter at a much later date and get it so it'll fit in with the rest of the chapters.

Thank you for all the reviews/favorites/alerts! If you have any questions, suggestions, critiques, and the like; go right ahead and either drop me a PM or put it in a review!

~Death


	5. Like Magnets

_**Chapter 5: Like Magnets**_

Quatre hung up the phone with a weary sigh. The phone was one of the appliances that came with the apartment, had been thoroughly filtered and checked, and would be constantly monitored by the "Command Center"—as Duo had unofficially dubbed it—when Heero was away from his laptop. It was a simple portable phone with its cradle plugged into the outlet next to the dividing counter between the kitchen and living room. But for being so simple, Quatre was curious to find out why his empathy had seemed to reach out to the machine when Heero mercilessly took it apart and put it back together when they had first moved in. In the end, he figured it might be best not to question his Space Heart.

As for the phone, the intention was not to use it at all. Incoming calls were to be expected and—to a point—necessary, but the plan was to refrain from using it for outgoing calls. Even with all of Heero's blocks and scramblers, it would be possible for someone who was skilled enough to trace the call. They would rather be the ones doing the tracing, not the other way around. In other words, it was too much of a liability.

Quatre placed the phone back in its cradle and pushed it closer to the wall before he leaned his back against the counter. The phone call was a necessary one, just one he had hoped wouldn't have been needed so soon. Rashid certainly didn't sound pleased when Quatre explained to him he went off on his own for a Quatre did argue he had the other pilots with him, but that seemed to make the leader of the Maganac Corps even more displeased. The only consolation Sandrock's pilot was able to give him was the fact he was now including Rashid and the rest of the Corps.

In truth, it was a rather belated realization and something that was accidentally overlooked by all the pilots. Surprisingly, even Heero missed the possible flaw in their mission plan; though it could be because it wasn't necessarily directed with his personal involvement. Heero and, eventually, Trowa would take the "commoner" means of transportation—that is, the train. Duo being the son of a major company and industry, Wufei arriving in all his pomp and grandeur befitting the title as heir to the ancient Chang clan of L5, and Quatre, himself, the "Prince" of the Winner Corporation would ultimately need transportation matching their positions—fabricated or not.

So, the phone call was needed in order to get some of the members of the Maganac Corps to play both chauffeur and bodyguard. This did appease Rashid to a certain extent since he was now able to—at the very least through subordinates—keep an eye on Master Quatre.

There was a whisper of noise off to his side, causing Quatre to whip around. He saw Trowa leaning against the wall near the entryway of the hall leading to the rooms. He gave Heavyarms's pilot a small smile, moving his hand away from the gun tucked in the back waistband of his khakis. "Well, we don't have to worry about the transportation issue; the Maganacs agreed to help us out." It went without saying that the Corps would practically do anything for Master Quatre. "I also managed to set up the rendezvous points so we won't cause any alarm to our neighbors if three limos pull up to this apartment."

Trowa gave a slight nod of his head. "It's not something I needed to worry about."

Quatre chuckled behind his hand, a polite gesture that seemed to be ingrained into him. "I know, I just thought it would be good to give you an update." Lowering his hand back to his side, he relaxed again to lean against the counter. A thoughtful look appeared as he stared at a spot on the floor a few feet away from his feet. "You are taking a different line from Heero?"

Trowa straightened from his spot on the wall and walked around Quatre and the counter into the kitchen area. "Heero takes an earlier train," he explained as he set a couple of portfolios, which were previously tucked under his arm, on the bar. He pulled open a few of the drawers. "What is it?" he asked as he finally found what he was looking for, a protein bar stashed away until Wufei returned with some more of the groceries. He opened it without too much thought as he waited for an answer from Quatre. The thoughtful expression Quatre had was one he normally got when he was analyzing OZ troop formation and the most effective way to put them down. Trowa wasn't going to let it go unquestioned.

"I guess I'm starting to have doubts about this whole mission. Of course with all missions there are doubts—at least I believe so—but the idea of having all of us stay together in one place is beginning to seem more and more like a bad idea. We can only do so much to limit opportunities." He rubbed at his chest through his white button-down shirt, a change from his normal vest. "Heero doesn't have too much to worry about, since in the eyes of OZ, he's already dead. They saw him self-destruct in Siberia and I think there are only a few who believe he's still alive. Lieutenant Zechs Marquise knows Heero is alive after their battle in Antarctica."

"And there is Lieutenant Lucrezia Noin who also knows of Heero. Those two seem to be questioning the actions of the OZ organization and how things are being run. I don't think we need to worry too much about them and those who were a part of their crew. They were a pretty close-knit group and the respect for both Noin and Zechs was obvious. If the two requested to keep our presence quiet, I do not doubt the crew would honor that request," Trowa said before taking a bite of the bar in his hand. He leaned his forearms on the counter and began flipping through some of the files, spreading them out on the table. "We don't even know if Zechs is still alive after taking on Ocht's patrol by himself."

"In any case, we're still going to find ourselves in situations where, if our identities as the five Gundam pilots are revealed, we can say goodbye to our missions and our lives. We're deep in enemy territory—though a considerably more benign one—they are still directly connected with the real enemy in one way or another."

Trowa took another bite of the tasteless bar while Quatre began listing all different ways the mission could be jeopardized. Most, if not all, of the scenarios were completely plausible. He pulled a few files from the group, separating them into different collections. "That's why we're trying to take all the necessary precautions to avoid any type of mishap. And one of those precautions is having the Maganacs close by."

Quatre let out a small sigh. "Precautions or not, we're still in a very precarious situation." His eyes followed the movement of Trowa's hands, watching him as he separated the papers. "What are you doing?"

Trowa glanced up from his task, one eye visible while the other was hidden behind the fringe of his hair that hung over his face. "These are backgrounds and previous connections from a few of the most influential families currently attending Ouran. The big names being Suoh, Ohtori, Haninozuka, and Morinozuka." He pulled out one of the thickest folders with the name "Ohtori" on the tag. "The latest information on this family is that OZ and Romefeller are pressing them to offer exclusive aid only to their forces. They're holding out against the demands and still supplying aid to both the Earth Forces and the colonies, but I have a feeling it's not going to last long. These are probably the families we need to keep the closest watch on."

"Did you already discuss this with Heero?"

"Yes, last night."

Quatre reached across the counter to grab one of the files. "What did he say?"

"He said that he had it under control. He already mentioned that he had been in contact with many of the target families and I think he's been introduced to these main ones as well." Trowa crumpled the bar wrapper and threw into the trash bin located under the sink.

Quatre continued to flip through the information. "When did you compile all of this?"

Trowa gave him a look, raising an eyebrow, waiting for Quatre to put the pieces together.

"It's only been about three days and you already gathered this much by yourself?" Quatre almost dropped the file he had in his hands. "You had all the information on the teachers yesterday and now you this much on the major families?" His eyes narrowed as a realization dawned on him. "How much sleep have you gotten? And don't you dare give me a Heero answer of, 'Enough.'"

Trowa couldn't help it; he cracked a small, amused smile. "And what would you do if my answer is, 'Enough?'"

"Perfect timing for your humor to make its appearance," Quatre mumbled. "You're the next one to show up and that'll be tomorrow, so at least promise me tonight you'll get some sleep. I don't need two sleep-deprived, paranoid soldiers and one Shinigami in a school of innocents."

Trowa chuckled. "I will… Mother."

Quatre shot him a glare and slapped the papers he was holding against Trowa's head. "Another good reason why it's a bad idea to have all us together in one place; Duo's rubbing off on you."

"And that glare is almost Wufei or Heero worthy."

He couldn't hold the look for long after that remark and started to laugh.

"What glare is worthy of me?"

Quatre glanced up to see Wufei walking past the sofa, his hands filled with grocery bags. Sandrock's pilot moved to take one of the bags from his grasp—not that the Chang heir needed the help but just because Quatre was that type of person. "We're all apparently rubbing off on each other due to proximity."

"May the gods help us all," Wufei deadpanned as he let Quatre take the bag and follow him to place them on the counter next to the sink. "Next time, one of you is doing the shopping. I had no idea what the hell we needed and the women were absolutely annoying."

"Was it really that bad?" Trowa started pulling groceries out of the bag, separating the non-perishables from the refrigerated and frozen items.

"Mindless females tittering behind their hands and mumbling inane remarks," Wufei growled, loading the fridge with the items Trowa was setting aside. "I'm not here to play some domestic fantasy when we should be out on the battlefield fighting OZ!"

"Who knew shopping could make a person so cranky," Quatre remarked from off to the side.

Wufei snapped his mouth shut to refrain from continuing his tangent, knowing full well he was just insulted. Changing the subject, he glanced over his shoulder at Quatre, mindlessly packing the food away. "Did you get a hold of your subordinates?"

"Yes, everything is in order." Quatre gracefully allowed the shift. "They should be arriving sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning. They'll have Duo's ride ready, then our own for the following days." His fingers played along the buttons of his shirt as he glanced down at the files Trowa had left. Pulling the shirt away from his chest, Quatre couldn't stop the frown forming on his face.

"Something the matter?" Trowa asked, handing Wufei a gallon of milk, the last of the items.

Quatre hated giving the impression he was a worrier, especially to some of the other pilots. It wasn't to say that he thought worrying, in itself, was bad; just when it dealt with the small, insignificant things that many of normal kids his age worried about he found it to be intolerable. "Just a bad feeling." There were a number of things he did worry about, including global melt-down, imminent danger, life-and-death situations, the colonies, the war, his family, and his friends.

"About what?" Wufei pressed as he kicked the refrigerator door shut.

Of course, having Duo run around a school of rich, "innocent" children, with Heero in close proximity—who was a frequent target of his jokes—being slightly emotionally unstable, and having a number of "toys" with him was another thing Quatre tended to worry about. He let out a sigh and hoped he was wrong. "About Duo."

"Oh."

* * *

After Colony 195, one hundred and ninety-five years after man started colonizing space. The colonies were built mainly to be homes for scientists and engineers, looking for new resources to better human life. As technology grew and advanced, more and more people left the earth to live amongst the stars.

As the colonies became more structure and populated, a governing body needed to be put in place. Top officials, scientists, and financiers took up the role of becoming the representatives and leaders of the colonies at each of the Lagrange Points. Most of the colonies were a type of democracy, but the L5 cluster seemed to follow a different governing path that was more like an aristocracy with the numerous Chinese family clans.

It wasn't until 133 A.C. that the United Earth Sphere Alliance (UESA) came into being. It was meant to be a governing/defensive body for both the earth and the colonies, acting as a type of defense agreement that benefitted both sides.

With the creation of the defense pact, the intended purpose was to end the conflict that had begun on the Earth and then spread to the colonies. It was run by officials elected from the nations of Earth and the colonies. However, due to human nature, not everyone agreed with the policies the United Earth Sphere Alliance enforced. Any nation that disagreed with its standards was swiftly put down by military action from the Alliance.

It was not unknown that within the Alliance, the Romefeller Foundation had much influence; just how much influence tended to get blurred by rumor and cover-ups. When the UESA was created, many of the aristocrats and royalties—all members of Romefeller—supported it and managed to insert members in the hierarchy of the Alliance. In so doing, the Romefeller Foundation asserted its power, continuing to covertly manipulate the world and pushing it to war with the space colonies to gain complete control over Earth and space.

Unrest was caused through many events, such as the assassination of the colonies' promoter of peace, Heero Yuy, the Alliance coming in and controlling the colonies as police states, and the put down of any advocates of the peace Yuy had called for; one such example would be the pacifist nation of the Sanc Kingdom.

In more recent times, Romefeller had used its power to orchestrate a trap for the Gundams and to indirectly cause the death of Field Marshal Noventa, who called for disarmament and peace. Through this trap, Trieze Khushrenada, member of Romefeller and commander of OZ—Romefeller's private military force within the Alliance—staged a coup d'état that put OZ and Romefeller in power over all the Earth Sphere and the colonies.

Despite the sudden upheaval of the Earth Alliance from OZ's coup d'état and the rise in power of Romefeller, things remained quite peaceful at Ouran Academy. It was most likely because most of the families attending were part of Romefeller, or at least positively connected to it. Since the school's foundation some years ago, it had remained untouched by the troubles of the "outside" world. The individual families might have felt some of the shockwaves of change, but the school's world remained pure, unspoiled.

Until Duo Maxwell walked its halls.

At that moment, Tamaki's world shattered at the brazenly spoken words. Such a phrase coming from someone he had never met before in his life—talking about his ass—was something Tamaki certainly was _not_ accustomed to. Well, not entirely true, he was well aware of many of the female students who often commented behind polite hands and gestures that he did, in fact, have a fine ass and more form-fitting cosplay was something he took into consideration. And to admit to a bit of vanity, Tamaki sometimes did find himself looking over his shoulder at his reflection just to admire his own beauty. The main problem besides it being someone he had never once seen in his life was the fact it was a _guy_.

Male. Dangly bits and all.

The once peaceful equilibrium of his inner-mind theater, reality, and all his expectations tumbled in on themselves, creating a black hole that vacuumed all sorts of sense and actuality. The only sound managing to escape his mouth was an unintelligible cacophony of syllables. "Bwha?"

Most of the girls looked scandalized, but the implications of what Duo had just said began to sink in and more than half started to entertain thoughts of the "fangirl" genre.

Duo flapped his hand in a placating gesture, an amused smile at the blonde's rather flabbergasted expression. "You might want to blame your father for that one. So don't shoot the messenger, or the bearer of bad news, or however you want to twist that to suit my current situation. It's not my fault your old man has a rather nice screensaver on his office computer, which flashes your ass whenever a particular picture comes up." He pulled himself out of his chair in a fluid movement and strode up to the reddening, classroom intruder. "I think all parents live to embarrass their kids in one way or another, so don't take it too hard." He held out his hand to Tamaki. "Duo Maxwell, at your service."

Tamaki shook himself out of his momentary stupor, staring at the offered hand. It was common for his father to embarrass him on a regular basis—it was one of those things he should and certainly does expect. But it doesn't stop it from affecting him. Rolling his shoulders, he gathered up the demeanor of his Host Club King, the persona which had yet to make another appearance since the order of Haruhi's indenture.

He recalled his father mentioning a few things about the five late arrivals—funny how the topic of Haruhi Fujioka never came up—and he intended to investigate further into their characters.

Chairman Suoh never gave Tamaki pictures to go along with the names and brief overview of each one, but meeting two out of the five face-to-face, he was able to make his own conclusions.

Heero Yuy was as much of an enigma as his father had suggested. Coming from the colonies—even if it was the L1 cluster, which were in a far better condition than the L2 and L5—much of his information was lost due to the ongoing civil unrest. The information provided included a birth certificate from the colonies, a residency card reporting he had lived there with his mother while his father had worked as an engineer of the Aries mobile suits. Both were reported as deceased when he was still quite young. He went to Earth to live with his current guardian; a free-lance archeologist, who—now that Heero was older—accepted more job offers, trusting Heero to take care of himself and checking up on him once in awhile. He also had test scores that easily snagged one of the Earth Sphere Full-Ride scholarships to Ouran.

Even though he had a rather quiet persona, a person could still sense a particular dangerous feel to him; it made typing him for a host quite a simple task. It was almost a neglected feel to him that made him closed off and hostile to the world—maybe his uncle didn't give him enough hugs after his parents had died—but the almost perilous aspect to him was apparently quite popular among the girls. Usually, the bad boys tended to have tragic pasts the girls wanted to delve their fingers into. Though they were still rather wary in approaching him.

Tamaki was determined to fix that in the not-so distant future.

This Duo Maxwell was certainly a strange one. There wasn't too much information his father could give him on his lifestyle. Basically the only sure thing was Maxwell House's heir was definitely a free spirit. It was rather unthinkable to find that he had actually decided to settle down and attend a school. As for his physical attributes, his slight and lithe frame was frail-looking—_almost_ as frail as Haruhi—but it was offset by mannerisms that exuded confidence. And with a braid _that _long on a _guy_, one would have to be quite comfortable in his masculinity. If anyone was unsure of his gender, his voice was the dead giveaway. Tamaki could understand at a glance Duo could have been mistaken for a girl but within the next moment the view would stand corrected.

In any case, the girls were apparently quite partial to him.

The only problem was he gave off a "Devil Type" twin's vibe, and that never was a good sign. Tamaki reached out and grasped the offered hand—mildly surprised at the rough calluses—as Duo gave two, firm pumps. "Mr. Maxwell was it?" the blond asked, his voice pleasant and charming.

Duo could see the gears turning in the Host Club king's head before the smile faded and a slight frown crinkled his brow. "Please, just call me Duo." He flashed a grin. Crossing his arms over his chest, he braced himself for the added weight of the twins as they came up on either side of him.

"Looks like we're—"

"—two for two, milord," Hikaru and Kaoru remarked in their broken dialogue, resting their arms on Duo's shoulders. They held up the victory sign to Tamaki.

Haruhi sighed as she saw all signs point to Tamaki having a tantrum. She thought she heard a similar response come from behind her, but she wasn't sure if the exasperated sigh actually came from Heero or if she was just hoping someone else saw the situation as troublesome.

Most of the girls in the class watched on with overly dramatic, bated breath. They knew about the bet between Tamaki and the twins. Even though they were hoping the five new students would be invited to join the Host Club—none would ever admit they were averse to having new eye-candy—at the same time, they hated to see Tamaki's defeated face. But they would admit Tamaki can absolutely pull off the beautiful despair in spades.

While the girls were overly enthused about the drama, the guys were desperately hoping they wouldn't have any more competition for the affections of their female counterparts.

Giving up at this point, the teacher sat at his desk, the heel of his palms pressed into his eyes. It was only the first hour.

"You're going to lose this bet," Hikaru and Kaoru teased, grinning up at Tamaki. Duo shifted between them but managed to copy their Cheshire cat-like grins with one of his own.

Tamaki pointed an accusing finger at them. "You have insider information on the new students, don't you?" he screeched. "Foul play! Foul play!"

"Yeah—"

"—the information from you." They snaked their arms around Duo's neck, pressing their cheeks against his. Duo was practically a human-size version of a teddy bear the twins had to share.

Heero watched the banter carefully, noticing Duo was practically vibrating with energy as he stood in the twin's embrace. Even though he was smiling along, Deathscythe's pilot was certainly out of his comfort zone. The twin's behavior was very much like Duo's, however, unlike them, Duo knew when enough was enough and when to get out of another's personal bubble. The Hitachiin twins hadn't quite grasped that concept yet.

At least Duo had yet to start raining down the wrath of Shinigami on the innocents. But, just in case, Heero was keeping an eye out for the warning signs.

"So, is this the lord you mentioned earlier?" Duo asked. "He doesn't seem like too bad of a guy." He drawled over the words causing some of the nearby girls to titter in delight. "But it seems like the three of you have some sort of bet going on and apparently I'm involved?" He added a little lilt to his voice to make the statement sound more like a question. It wasn't like he really needed to ask since he had a fairly good idea of what the answer was going to be.

"Between milord and us—" Hikaru said.

"—we made a bet that all newcomers—" Kaoru said.

"—would be Host Club material!" they ended together.

Duo gave a subtle raise of an eyebrow. '_Host Club material' huh? I wonder if that means good looks or if personality has some sort of weight. _If he had eyes in the back of his head, Duo would have been giving Heero an onceover with the accompanying smirk. _Looks, Heero has, but personality is nil. _He was sure that he found the source of Heero's discomfort and felt a wave of triumph flood through him. Giving himself a round of applause, another idea struck him. The idea definitely needed a standing ovation. "Can I get in on this bet?" He did his best to shrug off the twin's arms and they slowly loosened their hold. It could have been considered foul play, since he, technically, did have insider information of sorts on the new students. _There's no such thing as foul play when Shinigami plays, _he thought.

"Why would you want to do that?" Tamaki gave him a suspicious look.

"It lets me make the bet more interesting." Duo crossed his arms over his chest, shifting his weight to one side. "I say that the remaining—how many are left?"

"Three," the twins immediately sounded together.

"Right—three remaining newcomers are going to be this so-called 'Host Club material' but one won't even consider joining because he'll probably be some sort of sexist." Duo couldn't help it, the thought of Wufei being confronted by this Tamaki Suoh and the idea of him waiting on the whims of _women_ was just too amusing. Yeah, he definitely could feel Heero's eyes drilling into the back of his skull; like the Wing pilot was targeting the Buster rifle at an insignificant Leo suit.

It was a rather risky, impulsive—stupid—move on his part and maybe a little _too _specific but it was a risk Duo was willing to take. It was really all for Wufei's own good. He needed some feminine influences on him to help loosen the stick his ass had a hold of, which Duo was beginning to believe wasn't actually a stick but some sort of Gundanium rod. He really wasn't doing it for his own amusement even if the others accused him of that, he really did care about Wufei's welfare and it was just an added bonus if he did receive some gratification. Even doctors are happy when they see their patient suddenly become cancer-free and this was—from Duo's perspective—basically the same thing.

"Are you sure you—" Hikaru said.

"—want to get in on this?" Kaoru finished.

"Why not?" Duo looked between the twins and Tamaki.

"Well, the penalty is—"

"—public humiliation."

"What my subjects are trying to say is that if you lose the bet, you'll be stuck wearing the bunny costume that was a back-up plan when Hunny-senpai's Bun-Bun had tea spilt on it," Tamaki leaned forward ominously, "at Host Club activities for a whole week."

"Tamaki, what are you doing?"

Duo watched the older teen stiffen and slowly straighten at the voice. He leaned to the side to catch a glimpse of the owner behind Tamaki. The teen was tall and Duo was once again reminded of his lack of height and wondered if every guy at the school was closer to six feet than to five. The newcomer had thin-wire glasses resting on a slender nose in front of dark eyes. Black hair was brushed off to the side to keep out of his eyes, but a few fell stylishly out of place. Duo honestly did _not _like the calculating gaze of those eyes; it was a type of gaze that could pick up on the smallest detail. For the pilots' current situation, it was a hazard.

The gaze skipped past the blonde, no longer caring for a reply, and moved to Duo to do a quick but thorough sweep. "Ah, you must be Duo Maxwell," the teen said. "I'm Kyoya Ohtori."

Duo put on a grin. "Nice to meet 'cha."

"While I would enjoy exchanging more pleasantries," he grabbed Tamaki by the ear, "we should be in class."

"Ow! Kyoya!" Tamaki staggered as Kyoya started to walk away, his ear still firmly in his friend's grasp. "Haruhi, help!" He was backpedaling as he tried reaching out a hand to the scholarship student.

Haruhi propped her book up on her desk and began reading.

"Sorry about the intrusion, sir," Kyoya said to the teacher, who had yet to remove his palms from his eyes, before walking out of the room with the whimpering blonde still in his grasp.

The twins rested their elbows on Duo's shoulders. "So, that was milord."

"Seems like a fun guy."

"He's even more fun in the club," the twins said, closing in on him.

Duo laughed. "Okay, okay. You got me, I'm in."

"May we _please _begin?" the teacher asked as he placed his hands on his desk to hoist himself out of his chair, leaning heavily on the polished wood.

Heero's mind began to automatically calculate the damage the twins and Duo would cause once in the club together. He already knew the three of them would get along great, though he had a small glimmer of optimism they would be _too _alike and repel like two positive charges of a magnet. He wasn't too surprised it wasn't the case with Duo and the Hitachiin twins. He was better off with his pessimism; it made it easier to plan for the worst case scenarios. It only took another moment before he had to forcibly stop his mind from evaluating the damages. It made him briefly wonder if he was maybe excessively pessimistic. They couldn't cause that much damage.

Could they?

* * *

The rest of the school day went without too much interruption. After Kyoya had escorted—removed—Tamaki from the room and the twins and Duo found their seats and the Host Club regulars settled down was class finally able to start.

Duo was able to impress not only most of the class, but Haruhi and the teacher as well. He asked insightful questions and made rather unique and rational commentary on many of the subjects.

Heero never doubted Duo's intelligence. Deathscythe's pilot might not have Wufei's scholarly intellect or Quatre's knack for business and diplomacy, but he was able to put a new spin on old ideas and supply different perspectives. Besides the natural intuition, Duo took the math and chemistry lessons to a completely different level, able to create scenarios where the abstract would play an important function. Many of the ideas had been would have been used in the maintenance of the Deathscythe. Of course, many of the chemical combinations were evident in his explosives manufacturing, which he was more than skilled at.

The only thing Heero really doubted was the personal application of his intelligence.

The final bell rang and there was a semi-controlled rush to pack things into bags and to head off to either one's home or to club activities. Duo shuffled things around in his bag to hide a few procured items from chemistry and to keep them separate from the few other surprises from "home" he had thought to bring in. The idea of "show-and-tell" with the class was one he had daydreamed about when most of the subject matter was review.

Of course his version of "show-and-tell" would have been followed by Heero's "show-and-tell" of "Look, there are plenty of ways to disfigure a body without using any type of tool; here's a good example, one of my personal favorites." Though Duo doubted Heero had any favorite techniques to kill someone, he wasn't going to put it pass a person who had made it a habit of going around saying he was going to kill someone.

Duo slung his bag over his shoulder and turned to see the class president walking towards him. "What's up, prez?"

Kazukiyo stopped in front of him and scuffed the toe of his shoe against the floor. "If you would like, I can accompany you to pick up your uniform since the Chairman neglected to get you one."

The twins slinked up alongside Duo, taking up posts on either side of him. "That's okay; we'll take care of him."

The class president eyed the twins, but before he could press the issue Duo spoke up, "Thanks for the offer. But since I want to check out this Host Club I figure I should stick close to these two so I don't get lost." He laughed. "It was hard enough to find the Chairman's office!"

"If you're sure," Kazukiyo trailed off when Duo beamed at him. He sighed. _Well, it looks like another one lost to the Host Club._

"Hey, Haruhi, tell milord we'll be a little late."

Haruhi sighed as she stood up. _What am I? Your pet messenger? Damn, rich bastards._ She mused on the thought of _not_ telling Tamaki, but she knew in the end she would just follow their request. "Fine. So, Heero, are you coming along?"

Heero rolled his shoulders, visibly collecting himself. It was probably going to be another stressful day in the club and it was only the second day he had attended. Maybe it was the thought that Duo was also going to be there. "Might as well." He adjusted his bag, waiting for Haruhi to take the lead.

There was no way in heaven or in hell he would let an unknown quantity walk behind him, no matter how dainty he may have seemed. Quatre was a good example of being stronger than he looked.

Haruhi walked by Heero with a small smile. "At least this time you won't be dragged to the club room." The two of them headed out of the classroom, Haruhi slightly in front of Heero. "I know it's only been the second day you've been here, but how are you liking the school?"

There was a long moment. "It's fine."

She waited for Heero to continue but was met with silence. _How hard is small talk supposed to be?_ "That's it?" Haruhi glanced over her shoulder.

"Like you said, it's only been the second day." He stopped walking when Haruhi paused, keeping that small space between them.

"I don't know what to make of you, Heero," Haruhi finally admitted. "There's something about you that should be scary, but," she gave a shrug, "it's not really scary at all."

"And what am I supposed to make of you?" Heero crossed his arms over his chest.

"I guess that's a fair question. Like you said," she smiled before it faded as she crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking Heero's stance down to the slight furrow between the brows, "'It's only been the second day.'" She couldn't hold the slight glower for long and she started to laugh. "Hopefully, by the time school is over, we'll know what to make of each other. But we should hurry to the club room before Senpai throws a fit about _us _being late."

Heero watched Haruhi turn and head off in the direction of the club room. He followed after, letting the other student get a few more paces in front of him than before. Heero still had the boy marked as an "unknown", but he was definitely going to treat him with much more caution than before.

* * *

Duo found himself sitting at a table with the Hitachiin twins. The uniform wasn't as uncomfortable as he had thought it would have been, but was certainly more comfy than the last school uniform he had been forced to wear.

Since the three of them were running quite late to the club room, Duo had no time to be introduced to the last two members of the club; the third years, Haninozuka and Morinozuka. But he knew it wouldn't be too long before he was properly acquainted.

He made a quick glance of the club room, noting where the rest of the members where residing. Tamaki was the center of attention as he kissed the hands of the customers he was serving, causing a number of high-pitched squeals. The third years were tag-teaming a small group of females, with the smaller boy's eyes filling with tears while the one Duo was sure was Morinozuka placed a hand on the blonde's head, stopping those tears. Kyoya was previewing a new series of photo collections with a small group around him, who were waving around check books to order a number of the professionally done albums. Finally, Heero and Haruhi were sitting on two couches facing each other with them on one side and three girls on the other.

Deathscythe's pilot gave a secret smirk before turning back to his own situation. There were six of them sitting at one table, Duo, the twins, and three girls; they were arranged around the table in a boy-girl pattern. On either side of Duo were two second years and across from him was a third year.

With the different seating arrangement, the twins had to change their venue. Instead of fully relying on the "Brotherly Love" theme, they took the time to introduce the latest addition to the club.

"This is Duo Maxwell our—"

"—new Rogue type!"

Duo raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding what the twins meant by such a thing and he figured there was only one way to find out. "'Rogue type'?"

"He doesn't know, Hikaru!" Kaoru said

"I thought you told him."

Kaoru slumped his shoulders, wrapping trembling hands around the cup that was set in front of him. "I'm sorry, Hikaru. I forgot I was supposed to tell him while you went to get his uniform." He bowed his head, allowing his bangs to fall over his eyes.

Duo looked between the brothers, confused as to why this was such a big deal. He opened his mouth to say something—anything—to assure them that it was alright and if someone explained the whole thing to him right now, there was going to be no harm, no foul. Before sound escaped his lips he caught sight of the expectant expressions of the three girls. An eyebrow almost reached his hairline when Hikaru did exactly what the girls were waiting for, _Whoa, don't see that every day. _Duo had a strange flash of Quatre and Trowa's compatibility. _Never mind. _He shook his head to drive out the image, because he did have to live with them for however long the mission lasted and he knew they weren't involved in _that_ way.

Hikaru stood up from his chair as he leaned forward as far as the table would allow him, his hands pulling one of Kaoru's away from his cup. He clasped his brother's hand tightly. "I'm the one who's sorry, Kaoru. I shouldn't have assumed. I should have taken the initiative and told him myself. I knew you were also excited about bringing Duo into the club."

"Oh, Hikaru,"

"Kaoru."

Duo had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. The enamored faces of the girls were almost too much; they gazed intently, eyes brimming with tears as they held their breath. He brought his cup to his lips and took a sip, intent on watching the show. He couldn't tell if the rose petals were fabricated by his mind or if the aura of the twins and the girls around them had anything to do with it.

With a sudden movement, Hikaru pulled Kaoru up from his chair and used his brother's loss of balance to bring him into as tight of a hug as he could manage with the table between them.

The girls squealed.

Duo choked on his tea.

It took a few moments for the "afterglow" of the scene to wane and for the clients to realize that Duo was having a hard time breathing between fits of coughing. The two second years started patting his back, trying to help him clear his airway.

Duo glanced up at the twins to see them smirking at him. _It's their selling point_, he realized, _and maybe it had something to do with this 'type' thing they've mentioned. Tamaki was ranting about Devil types when we came in._ He cleared his throat and met their eyes. _Yeah, definitely little devils._ He gave one more cough. "I'm okay." He straightened and looked at the two girls. "Thank ya, ladies."

The grin he gave them caused the girls to slowly pull their hands away from his back. They stood a moment in stunned silence, even the third year who was finally able to see since the twins had pulled apart stood rather flabbergasted. A blush started to redden their cheeks at his grin.

"So, I get the point that no one told me what the deal with this Rogue type—"

The twins cut him off, taking their seats. "It's going to be your hosting type; a characteristic that women find pleasing."

"And Rogue type means what exactly? I mean I can take a guess at—"

"Think like a highwayman," Hikaru cut him off again. Duo was getting rather annoyed at their habit of interrupting him. Two—well, three—could play at that.

"A Rogue type will just as soon steal a woman's heart as well as her wallet," Kaoru continued.

"Rough around the edges but completely—"

"—suave, right?" Duo cut them off.

The twins gave Duo a look, not used to having someone bold enough to interrupt them. Haruhi was about the only exception, but the way the newcomer went about was almost like he was trying to make it into a competition.

The three girls watched the exchange, their blushes far from faded. Though it was different than what they were used to with the Hitachiins, they would admit adding the third dynamic of Duo to the twin's tag-team was something that had merits. The Brotherly Love act was still there but it was like they had another sibling to throw into the mix that added more tension and—for lack of better words—forbidden love. They did agree with Hikaru and Kaoru with Duo's hosting type. He was all smiles and charm but there was a hint of sharpness beneath the grins and a warning of danger that would sometimes lace his accent.

But it didn't stop them from enjoying it.

"So are you going—"

"—to be—"

"—sticking around?" Duo finished.

Hikari and Kaoru glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes, still not sure what to make of this new development.

"Yeah, I think I will hang around," Duo said as he shrugged as he glanced at table's female occupants. "What do you think?"

"Yes!"

"Please stay,"

"I've certainly enjoyed your company thus far," this came from the third year.

"Well, I think that answers that question." Duo pulled at the cuffs of his uniform jacket, adjusting the sleeves. "Looks like I'll be staying."

"Great, I'm—"

"—sure we'll have—"

"—a great time." Duo grinned.

"Just wait until—" Hikaru started again.

"—milord pulls out the cosplay," Kaoru was able to finish this time.

Duo stuttered. "T-the what?"

"Cosplay!" the twins chorused, throwing their arms up in the air in mock celebration.

The only thing Duo could come up with at the moment was, _Does Heero know about this??_

* * *

**A/N: **"So, I realize that it has been a while since the last update, but I have returned with the next chapter! And I'm actually on time with it too. Anyway, many are probably wondering where I'm going with this, and to be completely honest, I'm not too sure. I have plans for the upcoming chapters--yes, many plans" cackles "--and I hope I won't disappoint.

"I'm trying to incorporate more of the war aspect of the Gundam Wing side. So, you might see the appearance of some major OZ/Romefeller officials in the future. How far into the future? I honestly can't predict that, but as I have said, I have plans.

"It could just be me, but I'm seeing a fluctuation with my style/voice and it goes back and forth within each chapter. Is it just me? Or is it obvious with you guys as well?

"I don't know if I mentioned this before--too lazy to actually go back and check--but concerning the secrecy of Haruhi's gender; I know it's probably something the pilots should have figured out, but in order to work with an important plot point--my _plans--_coming up in later chapters, I need the pilots to continue being oblivious to Haruhi's actual gender. So, please bear with the slight OOCness of their observational skills--trust me, you'll be glad that you did." ^.^

"I know I said Trowa is the next to join the Host Club, but I've decided to make some changes, so it'll be Quatre who's next to join the club, but Trowa is still next in line to come to Ouran. I also made some minor changes concerning Trowa's circumstances that will be explained next chapter. I'm just giving you a heads up so I don't get yelled at for inconsistencies (though there are probably still a bunch). And realizations dawns upon me that most of the next chapter will be focused on Trowa and in his perspective." sighs "Hopefully I can get his character right--he's the only one I'm really worried about.

"I'm still accepting hosting types for the 3 remaining pilots! I have a few set aside for them, but I'm open to other suggestions. Feel free to let your voice be heard! Seriously, if you have any suggestions--not limited to hosting types--but if you want to see something happen, want to have a sub-character from GW appear, or even a suggestion for cosplay (I already have a few fun ideas) please make them! I take everything you guys say into consideration and I'm grateful for a lot of the suggestions ya'll have already made. Feel free to send me a PM pr put your ideas/suggestions in a review.

"This is turning out to be a long author's not, but don't worry, I'm almost done! I feel bad about making you guys stew in anticipation for the next chapters, but life is life and it's extremely hectic and unpredictable, so I can't give an estimate of when the next chapter will be out.

_**Special Acknowledgments:**_

"Thank you_, **Chyna Rose**_, for Duo's hosting type! This chapter is dedicated to you!

"As always, thank you _**Strata-Assassin **_for the beta!

"Reviews, critiques, and suggestions are greatly appreciated!"

~Death


	6. Reliability of Rebounds

(**EDIT: **Sorry, if you guys got two emails saying that I updated, it wasn't showing up that I updated, so I resubmitted.)

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Reliability of Rebounds**_

Chairman Yuzuru Suoh leaned back in his office chair, going as far to actually prop his feet up on the solid oak desk. It had been a rather successful beginning to the new school year, save for a few minor hiccups, everything had been running smoothly. The power surge during orientation wasn't _that_ big of a deal, nor was the prank pulled off by a Class D, Yakuza threatening that the Gundams would attack, which was rightly absurd since there hadn't been any activity from the rebel mobile suits since Siberia.

The one thing that may have caused some unrest was the rumor of Colonel Treize Khushrenada coming to speak at orientation. Somehow, the rumor was reported to the Colonel through the Romefeller grapevine and he sent a letter of apology for not being able to make it. A separate letter was also sent by Colonel Lady Une reprimanding the school for not stopping the rumor. Subsequently, the letter from Treize was framed and placed in a position of honor within a glass trophy case. The letter from Une was placed in a fire box and locked away with the other important documents and letters of reprimand.

The chairman glanced at the cabinet that housed the box, wondering if he could make it through a school year without getting another letter from the Lady Une. He sighed, especially with the antics of his son and his club he figured he was just being wishful.

He would admit he was happy when Tamaki had visited after club activities. But to his surprise, his son demanded he either change the screensaver, move the computer so it wasn't facing whoever happened into the office, or delete the picture. The chairman didn't know how he had come to find out about the screensaver, but just to appease his son, the chairman had deleted the picture and had emptied the recycle bin under the teen's scrutiny. Of course, as soon as Tamaki left, he just pulled out a USB disk and uploaded a different picture. Same motif and probably slightly more embarrassing. A towel tied around his neck like a cape and a diaper covering the blonde hair. No other clothes present.

The few moments before Tamaki had to leave were spent talking—the moments that weren't committed to the issue of the picture/screensaver. Tamaki had informed him about Duo Maxwell—no doubt the culprit of "tattle-tailing"—and his exploits with the Hitachiin twins. The three of them were a great hit with the customers; though their uncanny ability to finish each other's sentences was unnerving. It was understandable for the twins to be able to "read" each other's minds, but to explain how Duo managed was a different matter entirely.

Tamaki had admitted he didn't know what to make of Duo Maxwell. He was eccentric and cunning; a paradox all rolled into one small package. Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru reported that he seemed to be an upstanding student. They also mentioned it was strange how the homeroom teacher would flinch whenever they made eye contact and Duo shot him a grin.

His son went on to say that Heero Yuy was as enigmatic in person as he was on paper. Even though he had very little personality, the girls were still attracted to the same aura that made them uneasy.

The one thing Chairman Suoh did not miss was the implication of the young Yuy's name. His son's generation either had little to no idea of the circumstances of the late pacifist—though he had an inkling the young Ohtori might. There was some commotion in the school board when his name came up, but a background check showed he was in no way related to the dead colony leader.

The school board was directly related to Romefeller and many of the older Romefeller members—including his mother—wanted Ouran to maintain a strict regimen of subjects, and colony history was not to be included, nor anything that may show Romefeller and OZ in a bad light. This included pacifist Yuy's proclamations of the disarming of the world's nations and the unification of the colonies, since he spoke out about OZ and Romefeller's tactics.

Suoh hoped that maybe the student Yuy would be able to provide another side to the history of the colonies and Earth to the student body at Ouran. A perspective that isn't affiliated with Romefeller and has a closer tie to the distant—and often, obscure—colonies.

The chairman sighed, reaching for a paper on his desk before rocking back in his chair, leaning back as far as he could without toppling over. He held a note from 1-A's homeroom teacher. The paper was thick stationary, personalized to the owner's tastes. There was embroidery at the top with a fancy border along the sides, consisting of golden spirals and loops. It was a shame the handwriting wasn't as neat as the designs.

Probably was the reason why the homeroom teacher used it.

After a few moments of interpreting the scrawl, Suoh honestly thought about the request. It wasn't too much of an inconvenience for either party. A quick call, request, a minor change in paper work, and _viola_! Of course, the other party would first have to agree. But if worse comes to worst, a little bribery never hurt anyone. It was a business technique and not some underhanded ploy; some people just needed a little extra push.

Kicking his feet off the desk, he rolled his chair over to a filing cabinet and pulled open one of the drawers. He thumbed through the student folders and pulled out a thin file. Rolling back to his desk, he opened it and leafed through the few pages.

An antique phone sat on his desk—one with a rotary dial and brass and wood designs—that he used only for official Ouran Academy calls. He pulled it to the edge of the desk and—pressing the finger of one hand underneath the number—dialed. With the receiver cradled between his shoulder and ear, he waited for the other end to pick up.

* * *

Trowa sat back in the couch, listening to Duo animatedly recount his day to Quatre around the counter. Wufei was seated next to him; though "next to him" meant pressed up against the other end of the couch with enough room for two more people between them. He had his reading glasses on and a book propped up on his knee, looking very much like a student a person his age should be. Heavyarm's pilot observed him for a few more moments before turning most of his attention back to the commotion.

Duo was a one-man theatre group. Or circus troupe.

Trowa thought that maybe their cover stories should have been reversed. He could have done just as well with Howard and Sweepers and Duo would have blended in well with Catherine and the others. Though he wasn't quite sure where Duo would fit in best. Duo and Catherine would probably have a knife throwing contest to decide that—with Trowa acting as target. Whoever managed to outline him in knives with the least amount of blood would win.

Trowa was certain Catherine would win. "Miss" wasn't in Duo's vocabulary. Maybe one or two small cuts from Catherine; a punctured lung from Duo. It really was the lesser of two evils.

He thought he heard a small sigh from off to his left, but Wufei had no change in posture. Absolutely no indication of the irritation Trowa could practically sense coming off Shenlong's pilot in waves. If a daily regimen of meditation was able to give Wufei patience maybe it would give Duo some sort of tranquility.

Of course, if Trowa was one to guess, Duo's meditation wouldn't consist of trying to clear his mind. It would probably consist of the review of the molecular structure in specific chemicals used in his bomb making.

"Apparently, this club does a whole bunch of cosplay!" Duo threw his hands out wide. "I can't wait for you guys to come and check this place out. It would be awesome to see Fei in some sort of tropical garb. I bet the ladies would be fawning all over him. And Heero, too. They get the good genes, Quat, and we're stuck with our spacer pale skin. I tried tanning out on Howard's ship, lying on top of Deathscythe. I didn't just burned. I cooked. I guess old Pestilence didn't take into consideration sunbathing on top of a mobile suit, because giving my buddy black armor is not conducive to my attempt of tanning. Then again, he probably figured a colony would have been dropped on Earth before any thought would have been able to cross my mind." He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "He really doesn't give me enough credit. But the Hitachiin twins did say something about going to a beach in the near future, hopefully you'll be around for that, Quat, so I won't have to feel so inferior next to these Earthers—"

The phone started ringing, interrupting Duo's one-sided conversation.

Trowa swore he heard Wufei whisper a small prayer of thanks to his ancestors, but other than that, the four of them made no move to pick up the phone. Instead Trowa, Duo and Quatre all exchanged quick glances before turning back to the appliance buzzing for their attention.

A door shut from down the hall. Heero emerged from the Command Center he shared with Trowa and the computer equipment and stood in the hallway with his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. The green tank and jeans had replaced the uniform once he and Duo had returned from school. "Trowa, answer the phone. It's from Ouran, Chairman Suoh's office."

Trowa raised the visible eyebrow.

Duo turned his back to Quatre to face Trowa. "Geez, you haven't even attended and you're already getting a call from the Chairman."

"I hope it's nothing bad," Quatre remarked.

"I doubt it," Duo said over his shoulder. "Chairman Suoh is a pretty cool guy. Though, I _know _Heero thinks he's an idiot, the old man doesn't really miss much."

Trowa pulled himself out of the couch and walked over to the phone. He lifted it out of the cradle and hit the 'Talk' button. He brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He let his voice take on a curious inflection, sounding as if he really had no idea who was calling.

"This is Chairman Yuzuru Suoh from Ouran Academy. I was wondering if I could talk to Trowa Barton."

"This is he."

"Ah, good. I'm calling about your enrollment."

"Is there a problem?" Trowa heard a sigh on the other end.

"Not necessarily." Pause. "According to your transcripts, you're technically eligible to be placed into class 2-A. But because of the other transfers, the board decided it might be more convenient to place all of you in the same class, 1-A. And of course, your colony scholarship would transfer to either class."

Trowa could hear papers shuffling. "Is there something else?"

A sigh. "A long story short, the 1-A homeroom teacher feels that maybe having five transfer students trying to adjust would be something more than he could handle. I was wondering if you would agree to move up to 2-A."

Trowa was only mildly surprised. Duo did mention something about a teacher who had a certain amount of gall to insult Shinigami. He knew he should probably answer within the next few seconds, but he had to run the schematics of what this transfer would entail. He would have to review the rooms the 2-A class use, the teachers, and students. It meant there would be a number of different escape routes to prioritize, double-checking the potential VIPs he would encounter, and keeping tabs on a different set of teachers than what he had originally planned for. He actually had the urge to cover his eyes with his hand and count to ten.

"Mr. Barton?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"I can understand if—"

"It'll be fine, sir," Trowa replied. "But it would help if someone from the class shows me around." A perfect time to use the tactic Duo affectionately called 'bullshitting'. Duo didn't use the tactic to lie—because it went against his creed—instead, he used it to stretch the truth to unimaginable limits and tie it in a number of loops. "I've been intent on figuring out my way on the first year floor that I don't think I could learn the second year floor in one night."

There were a few sounds coming from behind him. Trowa recognized the snort from Duo, the harsh sigh from Quatre—who had already been hounding him about pulling all-nighters to memorize the school layout and attendees—an almost inaudible scoff from Wufei, and the lack of sound from Heero.

The chairman laughed on the other end. "Don't worry about that! I'll have my son, Tamaki, show you around."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you, Mr. Barton. I'll see you tomorrow morning, forty minutes before classes." The line went dead.

Trowa hit the 'End' button and placed the phone back in its cradle. "Duo?"

"Yeah, Tro?"

"Please try to control yourself around your teachers." He turned from Duo, ignoring his retorts of, "But the teacher called my hair ridiculous!"

He also effectively ignored Wufei's shot of, "Maxwell, your hair _is _ridiculous," and faced Heero. "I'll be moving up to class 2-A."

"Is it going to be a problem?"

Trowa cupped his elbow in one hand, propping it up to hold his chin on his fist. He thought for a moment, going through all the details one more time. "There might be a few more files that I'll have to pull—"

"Ones that can probably wait until tomorrow evening," Quatre cut in.

"—but it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"You could always just forget about those 'few files' and just wing it," Duo said.

"Yes, that works very well." Wufei pushed the frame of his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, "Especially on long-term, undercover missions." His eyes never left the page of his book.

"Yanno, Fei-fei, that sounded like sarcasm."

"'Yanno', Du-du, I might have never realized that. Thank you for pointing it out."

Trowa watched the gobsmacked expression spread as Duo floundered for words. "Did you—did you just?"

"Yes, I did." Wufei turned the page.

Quatre started laughing, a hand supporting his weight as he doubled over by the counter, while the other tried to muffle his chuckles. Heero shook his head and pushed himself off the wall, heading back to the room. Trowa almost let slip a smile but bit it back to start a countdown. _Three. Two. One._

"Wufei! You wound me yet again with your callous words!"

_Right on cue._ Trowa could always count on the reliability of Duo's rebounds. He leaned back against the counter.

"And after our heart-to-heart this morning! You—being devastated at the loss of your hair bands—came seeking me for comfort in the early hours. It crushes my heart so to hear you think of me as no better than shit—ack! Hey!" Duo rubbed the spot on his head where the spine of Wufei's book hit him. "If I get a black eye tomorrow…" He let the threat hang, trying for effect.

"I'm sure I'll be hearing about it." Wufei walked around the couch and picked up his book. Tapping it against his shoulder, he gave Duo a smirk.

"Challenge accepted."

Quatre slapped his hand on the counter to get their attention. "Take you fight elsewhere tomorrow. I will not be stuck cleaning this apartment up afterward."

"After school, Maxwell," Wufei said as he crossed his arms over his chest, tucking the book against his side, "let's have a race."

"Just don't draw too much attention to yourselves," Quatre said, "please."

Even though it had only been a few days, Trowa could tell everyone was already getting a little stir-crazy. It might have been because they were all stuck in the same place, for an undisclosed amount of time, and trying to live in a domesticated—though fabricated—environment. It could also be because of the lack of anyone trying to kill the Gundam pilots.

But maybe what caused the most unease was the lack of communication from the Doctors after the details of the Ouran Infiltration mission were given. Trowa had his suspicions that they were either dead or captured.

Wufei and Duo's race actually sounded like a good idea. It allowed for the two of them to blow off some steam against each other and give Quatre a chance for some quiet.

Sandrock's pilot had been growing rather irritable.

Trowa thought he should suggest the blonde go out as well. Of course, that would leave him and Heero alone. Quatre would probably worry they would add more security measures and, quite possibly, rig the place to blow. He might not go _that_ far, but he certainly wouldn't stop Heero.

He remembered coming back from his attempted suicide with Catherine to find the trailer they had left Heero in booby-trapped. Even though it was done rather crudely, it was effective and Heero even managed to arm himself with a knife from the kitchenette. He had been impressed with the measures Heero had taken; the number of injuries he had sustained would have given Trowa pause but the pilot still had managed to put together a primitive, trip-wire explosive that might not have caused too much damage but would have given Heero enough time to put the knife to use.

There was also the time in Antarctica, but Trowa completely agreed and even helped with the traps. Despite Zechs and Noin's intentions, OZ was still the enemy and was not meant to be trusted.

So, Trowa kept his mouth shut and watched; something he made to be a sort of pastime as well as a survival technique.

* * *

Trowa and Heero ended up riding the same train the next morning. Heero sat up near the front while Trowa ended up towards the back. The two of them were the only ones to get off at the Ouran stop with a number of stares. They, then, had a small trek up to the main campus. Once inside, Trowa asked Heero if he knew where Chairman Suoh's office was located and received short and curt directions. It was easy for the two to act like they had never seen each other before in their lives. The short exchange probably wasn't even needed, but with the knowledge of the well-hidden security cameras around the entrance, it made their cover more believable.

He followed Heero's directions as they matched the map he had memorized of the school earlier. He walked up the stairs, running his hand over the polished railing. To his surprise, he found Suoh waiting for him at the top.

"Mr. Barton?" the chairman ventured.

"I am," Trowa said when he reached the landing.

Suoh held out his hand with a smile almost splitting his face. "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Barton, I'm Chairman Suoh. I was hoping to catch you before you walked all the way to my office." Trowa reached out his hand and allowed the chairman to give it a few firm shakes as he continued, "I have my son, Tamaki waiting for us in one of the old 2-A classrooms. Another student from your class is also there, Kyoya Ohtori." After letting go of Trowa's hand, he made a fist and slapped it into the palm of his other hand. "They should have a uniform ready for you as well. Now then, this way."

Trowa pulled back his hand and followed the chairman down the hall. Reaching the classroom, Suoh pulled open the door and ushered Trowa in. As he stepped through, he ran through a quick checklist in his mind. The room was the homeroom of the previous 2-A, now 3-A, class. It was being refurbished and renovated for the next class since none of the clubs had opted to use it as a clubroom. There were two doors and six windows. The stairs were about 15 meters from classroom. The homeroom for this year's 2-A was two rooms down and right below was the 1-A homeroom.

Oh, and it was about a twenty foot drop to the courtyard below. Something he could easily manage in a pinch.

The two students already in the room were chatting. Or, more like the blonde with his back to the door describing something to the black haired teen with excessive hand motions and sighs.

The teen with black hair and glasses saw the two of them enter and gave Trowa a quick once over. Trowa knew an analysis when he saw one and this boy was definitely trying to place him. _So that's Kyoya Ohtori_. He had already gotten the warning from both Heero and Duo, but it was something he would have to consider even more now that he was sharing a class with the teen.

"Tamaki," he said over the other's ramble.

The blonde froze in his motions and noticed that Kyoya was looking behind him. He turned to follow his friend's gaze.

The chairman walked around Trowa. "Trowa Barton, this is my son Tamaki, and this is Kyoya Ohtori." He motioned to both of them as Tamaki took a step forward.

"A pleasure to meet you," Tamaki said as he held out his hand.

Trowa raised an eyebrow; the whole scene reminiscent of the one a few minutes ago. _Definitely a father-son combo. _He took Tamaki's hand. "Likewise."

"Tamaki, Kyoya, I trust that you'll be able to show Mr. Barton around." The chairman nodded to the three of them. "See me if there are any problems," he said as he headed to the door. "Well, I have a matter of a screensaver to attend to. Ta-tah!" His laughter followed him out of the classroom along with Tamaki's shout of, "Father!"

Kyoya had grabbed the back of the teen's jacket to keep him from chasing after the chairman. He spoke calmly, as if there wasn't a struggling teen snagged by his hand. "First off, are there questions you would like to ask, Mr. Barton?" He put on a smile.

"'_Come into my parlor,' said the spider," _Trowa thought. He wasn't going to try and match the smile. It was one of the things he had trouble with—a mask he had yet to perfect—the smile full of lies. A mask could only show one thing or hide everything. It was only skin-deep. Kyoya's smile was all about deception and charm. "I think my main concern is that of where the classrooms are and the teachers."

Tamaki stopped struggling. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "You have no questions about the clubs we have to offer? Why don't you consider joining the—"

"No."

"Kyo—"

"No."

"But—"

"Tamaki." The blonde couldn't talk back to that tone. "While Mr. Barton has enough charm and the right qualifications to join the Host Club, I must veto your decision."

"But, Mom!" Tamaki called forth tears to fill his eyes.

"You will not argue with me on this."

Trowa watched as the blonde moved to the back corner of the room and squatted. His fingers traced patterns on the floor while the other hand hugged his knees. The pilot cleared his throat. "As much as I appreciate the thought, Mr. Suoh, it was never my intention to take part in any clubs. I feel that I'll have a hard enough time trying to adjust to Earth and worrying about club activities is something I would not like to add."

Tamaki suddenly gasped and moved at an impossible speed, he soon stood in front of Trowa with his eyes wide in wonder. And dare Trowa say that they seemed to glow? "That's right! You're from the colonies!" He slapped a hand on the pilot's shoulder. "You must tell me everything!" He folded his hands in front of him. "Is it true that residents have to wear special boots so they won't end up floating around because the lack of gravity? How does the climate control work? Does it ever snow?"

Tamaki's line of questioning ended when Kyoya slapped a book to his head. "You really shouldn't believe everything the chairman tells you, Tamaki."

"You mean there's no special boots?" He turned pleading eyes back to Trowa. "Tell me the boots are real!"

Trowa really didn't know how to react. Surely, Suoh's stupidity wasn't authentic. It had to be some sort of cover, something like Duo's joking mannerisms. No one could really be that idiotic. Trowa did the only he could at the moment, he answered truthfully. "They're not."

Tamaki crumbled to his knees—somehow making it look like a planned pose—and buried his face in his hands. "My father tricked me again."

"Just ignore him," Kyoya said. "Paying attention to him only feeds his impossibly large and fragile ego." The teen stepped back and grabbed a cloth bag that was draped over a desk by the hook on one end. "This is your uniform. It should be the right size, if not we can always tailor it." He unzipped it and pulled out the blue jacket and black pants ensemble. "After we give a quick tour of the second year's floor, we can stop by the restrooms were you can change."

Trowa nodded as he draped the uniform over his arm.

"Shall we get going?" Kyoya smiled. "We have about fifteen minutes before most of the student population will be arriving." He walked towards the door and glanced over his shoulder.

Trowa glanced down at Tamaki who was still bemoaning over the fact that his father had played another successful trick on him.

"He'll recover soon enough." Kyoya assured. "If there's one thing you can count on, it's Tamaki's rebounds."

Trowa allowed a true—albeit small—smile to show through. He knew the feeling all too well. Stepping past the blonde he followed the other out of the classroom.

Kyoya paused outside the room and motioned down the hall, summarizing the number of rooms and what they were used for. He also went into a brief overview of the teachers that were to be encountered on the second year's floor. Gesturing for Trowa to follow, the two of them started to walk down the hall away from the stairs.

Tamaki's yells of, "Kyoya!" followed with the blonde close behind.

The tour went quickly, Kyoya able to summarize the whole floor with the minimal amount of words and still be completely descriptive of where everything was located. He even managed to explain some important details from the other floors as well.

Trowa was impressed. After bunking with Heero—master of the blunt understatement and let's-see-if-I-can-get-my-point-across-in-four-words-or-less, title courtesy of Duo—on occasion, it took much to impress him.

And that was Heero without a gun.

A number of students had already arrived and were watching the trio with avid interest, but remained at a respectful distance when they noticed Kyoya was the one leading the newcomer around. Most just gave a few polite hellos or nods of acknowledgement and returned to their own conversations.

A rather large group of girls rounded the corner and gasped. Their pace quickened as they rushed up to Tamaki and surrounded him. Their giggles and questions only fueled by the equally absurd flirtations of one particular blonde. Trowa really thought the whole scene was rather… He really didn't know how he should describe it. Disgusting seemed like too harsh of a word but the sight of how naïve these students were just didn't sit right. Like one of Duo's concoctions that involved blending hotdogs back to their original state—whatever that was.

Duo wasn't allowed near the kitchen unless someone was supervising.

Trowa couldn't help the slight crinkle of his eyes at last night's memory. Quatre had lost his temper—more so than Wufei—when they had found out what had gone into the making of Duo's Special Stew. He hadn't been surprised since he watched Duo pull out the hotdogs and blender, putting the mystery meat into the machine. He did stop watching from that point, though. It was rather amusing, and he thought Duo only made such a thing just because he didn't want to be stuck on food duty.

Heero was the only one to actually finish dinner.

As one part of his mind replayed the moment the other part was keeping tabs on Kyoya. "Are we going to wait for Mr. Suoh?"

Kyoya shook his head. "No, the only thing left to do is for you to change and then head to class." He shrugged one shoulder. "If you would like, I could introduce you to some of your classmates." If Kyoya was going to say anything more, it was drown out by piercing squeals as Tamaki must have done something to make the sex-drives of the girls burst the appropriate barrier and move into the obscene.

Or it could have been Trowa's cynicism getting the better of him.

"Why don't I just get changed?"

"This way." Kyoya stepped in front of him and leed him to a door at the far end of the hallway.

Trowa did a quick checklist and placed himself on his mental map, noticing they were only one corner away from their homeroom.

He pushed open the door couldn't help the slight falter in his step. It wasn't so much a restroom as it was a spa. The first section of the room was a changing room. It had heated, tiled floor that Trowa could feel it seeping through his shoes. On the right hand wall was a number of stalls, the entrances blocked by curtains. The curtains had a sheen to them, so much so that he had a feeling they were silk. The left hand wall was a line of mirrors, surrounded by a gold border and free of finger prints. Trowa glanced to his right and saw a number of lockers. At least those looked ordinary. Even the rich and powerful couldn't pretty up the mundane school lockers. The only thing done to them was the coating of a pale blue paint.

About fifteen feet in, there was an elaborate arch that separated the changing room from the bathroom area. A pair of Corinthian pillars were the support to the arch, no doubt cut from marble. He caught sight of stalls and urinals with fancy sinks and countertops.

He stopped looking. It was starting to become annoying.

Trowa headed to the nearest changing stall and snapped the curtain shut behind him. _I think this place is affecting me more than Heero._ Placing the clothes on the bench, his fingers went through the motions of undressing as his mind tried to reorient itself. _He wasn't lying about the whole culture shock though. But, I do remember Duo mentioning that Heero was enrolled at Saint Gabriel Institute with Relena Darlian, so he might be more immune to this 'high-class' atmosphere._ He draped the tie around his neck as he tucked the white, button-down shirt into his pants. Even with the shirt tucked in, the pants threatened to slip off his hips. He sighed and pulled the belt from the jeans he had worn and threaded it through the loops.

The pants still sagged.

He saw Kyoya glance up from his leaning spot against the lockers as he walked up to the mirror. At closer inspection, the mirror wasn't a number of smaller segments, it actually was one complete mirror, spanning ten feet. Shrugging the jacket on, he fixed his tie and pulled the knot to the close off the collar. As Trowa fastened the three buttons and tugged on the sleeves, he watched Kyoya in the mirror with subtle shifts of his eyes. Acting like he was trying to adjust to the new clothes, he noticed that the Ohtori teen was also discreet in his own observing but wasn't quite the master like Trowa.

The pilot watched the suspicion draw a V across his brow through the mirror. It certainly was going to be harder than he had originally planned. This Kyoya was a formidable obstacle. Despite the precariousness of the situation, the foremost thought in Trowa's mind was the inevitable meeting between Kyoya and the Winner heir. That would hopefully put the black-haired teen back on his heels and force him to focus on cracking the Pandora Box that was Quatre Raberba Winner.

With a flawless shift, the V was erased and Kyoya had a pleasant smile plastered on. "Looks like we were sent the correct measurements."

"Almost." Trowa tugged at the waist. "At least this is the only thing." He headed back into the stall to grab his clothes. "I was afraid I might've hit a growth spurt since coming to Earth," he said as he folded his clothes.

Kyoya's silence hinted that he seemed a little unsure of how to respond. "Being born a colonist, I don't think you would have just suddenly grown a few inches," he said in a slow and level tone.

"It was a joke," Trowa said as he walked over to the lockers. Choosing one a few spaces away from the teen—noticing the locker numbers were done in gold leaf—he placed his clothes inside. "I'm well aware of colony genetics, Mr. Ohtori. It appears height is not the only thing they lack in." He slammed the door shut and noticed the raised eyebrow on Kyoya's face. _I should leave the humor to Duo, it seems._

Luckily Kyoya was saved from having to make any remarks to Trowa's attempt at humor when Tamaki flung the restroom door open. It appeared he was going to say something to Kyoya but the pilot caught his eye. He walked up to him and walked around, his head bobbing in appreciation. Trowa felt like some sort of free-standing statue in an art museum.

"Not bad, not bad." Standing in front of Trowa again with his hands on his hips and a wide smile, Tamaki glanced over his shoulder at Kyoya. "Are you positive—"

"I stand by my decision, Tamaki." Kyoya glanced down at his watch. "I'm certain the other members will have to agree."

Trowa wondered if there was a hint of blackmail in his tone.

Tamaki stuck out his bottom lip. "They won't know until they meet him."

"Tamaki." The three syllables were said as if a period went in between each.

Trowa wasn't sure if it was a good idea for Suoh to give his back to his classmate, but he did anyway when he grabbed Trowa by the upper arms. "Please, just come and visit!" His sentence ended in a gag when Kyoya's hand grabbed the back of his collar, wrenching his grip from Trowa's arms.

"Tamaki, do you make a habit of collecting men? Imagine how the girls would react if they found out."

The smile was something Shinigami would have been proud of.

"Eep."

* * *

After his introduction to the class, many of the students seemed to forget he was even there. He didn't like to admit it, but Trowa did put a lot of effort into his remarkable unremarkable-ness. It made spying on the enemy so much easier if he was able to just blend into the background. Tamaki was really the first person to see through the façade. It was a shame the blonde didn't seem to be aware of his observational skills, or else he was aware of them for all the wrong reasons.

Trowa sat in the back of the classroom and closest to the window. He was actually quite pleased with his seat; able to watch all exits, observe all of the room's occupants, and could make a quick escape if the situation called for it.

He recognized a number of the students from the profiles he had reviewed, but there wasn't anyone who really had close ties to OZ and Romefeller. It was rather convenient—or contrived—that the ones who had the closest ties were the two who were members of the Host Club.

The fair few of his classmates that did have ties to OZ and Romefeller were because they had an officer for a relative. There also was one student whose ties involved being the heir to the company supplying battlefront soldiers with condoms.

Officially, the company was in the production of latex. They provided a number of products for medical proposes like gloves, cheap mattresses, medical balloons, and catheters. But after living with mercenaries for the better part of his life, he knew that the only thing any type of soldier—be it mercenary or enlisted—really cared for was that small package of rubber.

The one person that did catch his eye was Ayame Jonouchi. He remembered her from the list of Student Council members—vice chairman, if he recalled correctly. She was currently placed third in the class behind Kyoya—no surprise—and Tamaki—slightly unanticipated. Her dark hair was straight enough to look artificial and her dark eyes would narrow whenever Tamaki called attention to himself.

As it was, her face was set in a glower throughout most of the class period.

Watching her, Trowa began to plan. He was actually disappointed in himself that he didn't think of it sooner. Joining the Host Club was an option he had been weighing, even without Tamaki's pestering, but this new development felt like a better choice. The opportunities that may arise with his involvement would be fundamentally different from the pilots in the Host Club. It felt like it was something to be considered.

Besides, didn't Heero once tell that he should act on his emotions?

* * *

**Author's Note: **"God... Trowa... I love ya and all, but you're a pain in the ass to write! And wouldn't you know it, most of this chapter was in your POV! Anyway, I apologize for taking my time with this chapter and have it turn out not as long as I had hoped. But, it's here. I was just happy to get it finished and up to snuff before classes resume. This semester has the feel to it of being a dozy." sighs "Umm... I know there were a few things I wanted to mention...

"Ah! Yes, I remember. I have made a few changes from what I originally had plan for this story - considering it has been over three years from when I started it. I'm pretty sure I had already mentioned this in last chapter's A/N but I figured a repeat would be necessary.

"The topic of Hosting Types, I would still love suggestions for Quatre and Wufei if you have anything new!

"As usual, I can't predict when the next update will be. Like I mentioned above, this next semester has the feeling of being quite the workload since I'm finally buckling down on the core courses for my major. I can only promise to do my best to get the next chapter out as some as possible.

"Umm, what else was there? ... Oh, I'll do my best to respond to reviews in a timely manner! Sometimes, I lose track on where I left off... heh.

"So to end things like always, if you have a critique or suggestion just drop it in a review or PM me. I appreciate it!

**Acknowledgments:**

"Again, thanks **_Strata-Assassin_** for the beta! Apparently, I love the word "that", even when I try to read through and omit most of them, I still miss a bunch..." sighs"

~Death**  
**


	7. Counter Physics

_**Chapter 7: Counter Physics**_

Quatre couldn't help but feel like a mother. Seeing Heero and Trowa to the door was done out of etiquette and polite upbringing, but it still left a lingering taste of matriarchy. He at least managed to refrain from waving as the two walked down the street to join other students making the trek to their respective schools, bus stops, or trains. In fact, as soon as they were out the door, he glanced down the street and back, checking for anything that could be considered out of the ordinary before shutting the door and securing it.

The whole mother feeling came back full force when he returned to the counter where the two remaining pilots were bickering over breakfast.

"Shouldn't you be leaving, Maxwell?" Wufei sniped from his seat.

"Na-uh," Duo remarked, a piece of toast hanging between his teeth. He sat opposite Wufei on another stool. "Don't want to be too early."

"Epitome of a stand-up student." Wufei took a sip of his tea.

"You're just jealous."

"Of what?"

"Of my epitome of 'stand-upness'."

"Child," Wufei growled.

"Anal retentive," Duo shot back.

The two leaned forward over the counter, breeching the barrier with each immature insult.

Quatre pressed two fingers to the center of his forehead and heaved a sigh. "Wow, the professionalism here is just awe-inspiring. Can't you two just—ah, I suppose asking to tolerate each other would be asking the impossible."

Duo smirked. "Don't be like that, Quat, Wu and I can tolerate each other just fine." He picked up his coffee mug and took a drink.

"Don't call me that." Wufei flicked a crumb from the table at the braided teen before turning to Quatre. "And what are you supposed to be, my mother?"

Duo sputtered, a hand flying to cover his nose and mouth. Once he was sure he wasn't going to spray anyone, he began laughing in between fits of coughing. "Oh, God, they're going to be competing for _that_ position."

Quatre eyed Duo as he tried to regulate his breathing. If he were to ask what he was talking about—and Quatre was tempted—the reply would probably be said in a way that would only further irritate Wufei. He needed to keep Shenlong's pilot in a good mood if he was going to comply with any of his _suggestions_.

Quatre hid a smile.

After a few seconds of silence, a series of beeps coming from the Command Center broke the atmosphere. It wasn't the alarm for any sort of security breech, but it still had Quatre bolting to the room. He hurried to the desk and closed out of the dialogue box, allowing for the notification to show up. It was a brief message, sent through a backdoor Quatre had created for the Maganacs' use to get in contact with him. The message contained a location and a signature of M.C. He typed a quick confirmation and went back to the kitchen.

Duo and Wufei watched him walk into the room, waiting for whatever news he had to give.

"Duo, Abdul is waiting for you at your rendezvous point," Quatre said as he walked over to the couch and picked up Duo's bag. "We'll have to leave now so you won't be late for class."

Duo heaved a sigh and walked around the counter. He took his bag from Quatre's grasp and slung it over his shoulder. As he made his way to the door, he patted Wufei's shoulder. "Don't forget about our race tonight."

"Like I would forget about a chance to humiliate you." Wufei made a show of brushing off the spot where Duo had placed his hand.

Quatre slipped on his shoes and didn't bother to wait for Duo to further taunt Shenlong's pilot. He pushed Duo out the door. "Wufei, keep an eye on things." And there was that mother feeling again. Shutting the door, he rubbed at his chest, a slight smile gracing his lips as he felt Wufei's grumbling.

Duo laced his fingers behind his head, waiting for him at the end of the sidewalk. "So, just how bad does Wufei have it today?" Quatre hummed a question as he walked by, letting Duo fall in step with him. "Oh, c'mon, Quat, at least tell me he's gonna have _fun_ today."

"Yes, Duo, he's gonna have fun."

Duo pouted and dropped his hands back to his sides. "Why do I get the feeling that you're just humoring me?"

"Because I am." Quatre smiled as they turned a corner. "But I'm sure I can find something domestic for him to do."

They walked in silence for a few moments, turning down random roads and alleys. It was all done without a thought—training imbedded into the very core of their being—memorizing the route, making sure not to draw attention, and keeping an eye out for anyone tailing them.

"Well, one thing's for sure, I'm just glad Rashid isn't the one taking me," Duo said. "He's a nice guy and all, but I can't help feeling that whole 'oh-God-he's-gonna-snap-me-in-half-because-I-_looked_-at-him-wrong' vibe." He started walking along the edge of the sidewalk, balancing on the curb. "But I guess it comes in handy when he's commanding a ragtag group of nomads." He let his voice increase in volume.

Quatre rolled his eyes and turned around. "Abdul, thanks for doing this."

A man stepped out from the alley the two of them had just passed. He fidgeted in his outfit, tugging on the sleeves; sticking his hands in the pockets of the black slacks and pulling out the lining before shoving it back down. The buttons on the white undershirt were done up wrong, leaving one extra button at the collar to fend for itself as the black tie closed half-heartedly around it. "Hey, I resent that 'nomads' barb." He pushed the dark sunglasses further up his nose.

"But you're not going to argue the 'ragtag' bit, are you?" Duo smirked.

"Nope, because it's true. Can't get any more ragtag than us!" He tipped back his head and laughed. "Well, it's good to see you again, kid." Clearing his throat, he turned to Quatre and bowed. "Master Quatre, Captain isn't too pleased with this mission of yours." He straightened slightly and put a hand next to his mouth. "But you didn't hear it from me."

"Of course not, Abdul, he had already made it quite clear when I came with the request." Quatre smiled. "But that's for me to worry about."

"Right, right." Abdul turned on his heel and headed back down the alleyway he emerged from. "Well, the limo is this way." He led them to the next street over where car was waiting. He placed his hand on the top and gave it a pat. "Nothing like a mobile suit or Jeep, but for an extended cab, she handles nicely." The limousine was black with tinted windows. It was a simple six passenger brand, but knowing the Maganac Corps—especially Abdul—there had to be something extra about it. Especially with the praise he was giving it.

"Glad to hear it." Quatre placed his hands on Duo's shoulders and pushed him forward. "Now, the two of you should be off."

Duo exaggerated his stumble and glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. "But, _Mom_, I don't wanna go to school." He laughed and gave a cheeky wave, leaving Quatre no choice but to just shake his head and roll his eyes. "Well, Abdul, are you going to get the door?"

The sunglasses slipped down his nose and the rebel gave a few blinks. "If I must." He took the two steps to the back door and opened it with a flourish, ushering the braided teen in with a flick of his hand. "Come, Master Maxwell, we must be going." An attempt at a British accent laced his words.

"Alrighty, Jeeves." Duo slipped into the seat and pulled the door shut before Abdul could, almost catching his fingers.

"Abdul." Quatre stopped him before he walked around to the front of the car. "Make sure you are careful. It is paramount our identities remain a secret, we can't let anyone even begin to suspect that we're not who we say we are."

"I understand, Master Quatre."

"Good." Quatre gave him a grin. "You might want to make yourself more presentable though."

Glancing down, he noticed his state of dress and hurried to fix the buttons and tie.

There was a tap on the car window before it was rolled down. "Now who's the one making me late?" Duo asked, folding his arms on the frame and resting his chin on them.

"Yes, yes." Quatre shook his head. "I'll see you later."

Duo grinned and rolled the window back up and Abdul gave one last bow before jogging around the car to slide in the driver's seat. The engine started, turning over from the battery. The brake lights flashed as Abdul shifted from park and pulled out of the alley.

Quatre gave one last wave before turning around and heading back the way they came. The first time Duo had met the Maganacs, he had immediately hit it off with Abdul. It must have been because their similar good humor. Even though that time had been rough on them all—particularly the Gundam pilots, since the colonies were targeted—those two still managed to put a small smile on their faces and on those around them.

He blew out a breath, ruffling his bangs. There were still a number of things he had to do before his arrival at Ouran Academy the next day. Most of them were making sure Wufei and his rendezvous points were clear and fixed, the apartment was maintained in both security and cleanliness, and all the data complied on picked Romefeller families was coded and filed on a separate server—set up by Heero—protected by a number of firewalls, passwords, and hacker terminology for nigh-impenetrable.

Quatre would be the first to admit he was not proficient with computers, especially compared to the skills of Heero and Trowa. He had enough knowledge and ability to get into databases and cover his tracks after pulling what he needed, but he would not attempt to create a network system that could withstand a virtual attack equivalent to a beam rifle bombardment.

The five of them were still trying to figure out _why_ they needed to get close to those children of prominent Romefeller officials. It didn't quite make sense. Duo's theory of them trying to influence the next generation to stop the current war was anyone's best guess. It was also a good way to keep them busy and stay under the OZ radar for the time being. But Quatre still didn't like the idea of them operating under such obscure circumstances.

He placed a hand on his chest for a moment, pausing on the sidewalk as he considered the emotions he could sense from the two he just saw off. He smiled and started walking again. Maybe having Abdul chauffeur Duo was _too_ good of a match.

* * *

It came as an initial surprise for the class of 1-A to meander into their homeroom and find one of the desks missing. Immediately there were a number of conclusions drawn as to what could have happened. Most of them ranged from the unlikely to completely preposterous. Some such ideas were that the shuttle bringing the student from the L3 colony had been gunned down by rebel forces, or he was being held hostage by the mysterious Sweeper group, or the most half-wit, brain-dead, what-drugs-went-with-your-cereal guess of him being outed as a Gundam pilot trying to infiltrate Romefeller by any means—including that of becoming a student in a school full of Romefeller connections.

Even Heero scoffed at the rumor.

"The new—"

"—student?"

The twins sat on Haruhi's desk, their shoulders pressed together in a line. Haruhi huddled over her book—the one she managed to snag before the twins shoved it out of the way with the others—trying to ignore the way most of the class pressed in around her. Except at her back, where Heero's gaze pressed enough. The students refused to stand in direct line of his sight, so they crowded around the sides and behind the twins.

"Do you think his shuttle got gunned down?" one of the male students asked.

"I heard there was a riot on the L3 colony a few days ago; maybe he got caught up in it?" a girl suggested before cradling her face between her fingers. "What if he was seriously injured or worse? Oh, I wish this war would end!"

"No, nothing happened to him," the twins said with a shrug, placating the girl who was on the verge of tears.

"Milord called us last night to—" Hikaru said.

"—tell us that he had been moved up to—" Kaoru said.

"—2-A," Duo cut in.

The whole group jumped as Duo slipped behind the twins—_somehow_ shouldering between a couple of students without being noticed—and wrapped his arms around their backs as he rested his chin on the shelf their shoulders made. He looked utterly pleased with himself, like a cat that got the canary, cream, and the mouse and was content to bask in a warm patch of sunlight.

Haruhi watched the lazy grin spread his lips and tried to fathom just how he managed to appear out of thin air—surely, there would have been reports if some sort of teleporter was built that could bend the laws of time, space, and physics. Even she didn't notice him until he had spoken and she was staring directly at the twins.

She had a strange feeling Heero had noticed since the tingling between her shoulder blades had shifted. She could almost feel the heat from his gaze above her head. It was how she imagined the residual heat from a beam rifle would be like.

"You seem to be—"

"—running a little late."

"Nope," Duo moved away from the two and curled around the others to get to his desk, "I'm right on time. Being early two days in a row is way too proper for me. After spending most of my time on the road—following my own schedule—I just can't get used to the idea of being consistently early. It'll hurt my reputation." He gave a shrug that slipped the bag from his shoulder. "Besides, coffee needs a purpose. And what better purpose than to perk me up in the morning so I arrive in the nick of time after sleeping in for as long as possible."

Haruhi watched him the whole way to his desk. "How did you hear about the new student?" She felt Heero's gaze on her again, lining her up in the crosshairs.

Duo hung his bag on the back of his seat before sliding in, his grin easy and slightly teasing. "Well, I ran into a 2-A student. She was in quite a rush, clamoring about how Milord was showing the new student around after a change in paperwork or something." He pulled out a paper and pen. "And then I come in, notice we're one desk short, hear the convo, and all the pieces just fit together into a nice little picture." Propping his chin in his palm, he continued, "Judging by your reaction, I'm guessin' the picture is more of a Raphael than a Picasso."

"Uh, what?"

"My guess was pretty realistic, right? Hence, a Raphael, because I don't know about ya'll, but I can't make head or tail of that Cubism stuff." He turned in his seat to face Heero. "You agree, right?"

"Hn."

"See, Heero even agrees with me."

_I wouldn't call that agreeing,_ Haruhi thought.

As the twins moved to their seats, the group surrounding Haruhi's desk dispersed, taking the conversation away until it was little more than background noise. Kaoru plopped in his chair and turned, slinging his arm across the back. "So, any word on this new student whether he's material or not?"

Duo leaned back. "Well, I'm not sure. The girl I ran into seemed to like him, but it didn't sound like he was anything spectacular. Apparently Milord and Kyoya are in some sort of disagreement concerning the guy." He shrugged.

"Any idea why?" Kaoru pressed.

"Interrogate the messenger, much?"

"When it comes down to a bet between us and Milord," Kaoru trailed off as he gave a shrug of his own.

"Why is it so important?" Haruhi asked as she tried to ignore Hikaru making a few attempts at coaxing a smile from Heero. "It seems like it's rather troublesome if you ask me."

"Haruhi, Haruhi." Kaoru shook his head. "It is our integrity on the line. Public humiliation. We can't allow Milord to win and have ourselves publically disgraced. It won't matter so much if Milord loses because he makes a fool of himself on a daily basis."

"Why did you make the bet in the first place?"

"Because it was fun," Hikaru said from behind her, causing her to jump.

"Now, ain't that the best reason?" Duo asked, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers behind his head.

"The only," the twins said.

Haruhi glared over her shoulder at the grinning Hikaru, before shaking her head. The three of them were just rich bastards and _that_ was the only reason echoing through her head. Only those with money could flaunt around and worry about something like 'public humiliation'. Being who she was, Haruhi didn't find the punishment all that bad. Sure, she would be embarrassed, but it felt to be more troublesome than actually ruining her image. Besides, she was a girl pretending she was a guy to pay off her debt. Things couldn't get more awkward than that and she really didn't care if she was found out.

"We'll just have—" It was Duo's voice that interrupted her thoughts.

"—drag them to—"

"—the cafeteria!"

Haruhi blinked. "Wha? Who?"

The trio smirked. "You and Heero!"

"I'm not being dragged anywhere," Heero said. He may have allowed it before but there wasn't going to be another time. Not now. Not ever.

Haruhi almost wanted to say he snapped at the three, but there was something about his tone that implied a fundamental _fact_ of they weren't going to drag him, because it was physically improbable. He was a true object at rest compared to the twins and Duo's object of motion. No amount of force was going to make him budge.

She couldn't believe she just applied physics to the temperament of her class and clubmate. Luckily, the twins and Duo were too busy trying to bend the law of physics to notice her slip into a scrutiny of Heero.

It was true; she really didn't know what to make of Heero and had admitted it to his face the day before. But after she had told him, she started to watch him a little bit more than what was probably necessary and beyond what her own curiosity dictated. He had a few tics that—while barely noticeable—were obviously trying to be kept in check.

And it wasn't just Heero. Duo seemed to have the same reactions to some of the same things. Yesterday's time in the club room was one example. Tamaki had been up to his usual antics; his flamboyancy and love of all things deemed "common" resulted in a surprise of confetti poppers. Heero and Duo flinched with the rest of the club under the "ambush", but their hands were eased away from their sides instead of their ears.

Any further thoughts on the two students were interrupted when a girl burst through the door. "I saw him! I saw him!" She was blushing furiously and Haruhi was trying to decide whether it was because of her mad dash back to the classroom to report or the new transfer was just _that_ good looking. The previous buzz of the room exploded again into loud chatter as many of the other students swarmed the girl with questions. Most of the Host Club regulars were eagerly awaiting to hear if the club was going to get yet another member.

"He was handsome and mysterious." The girl swooned, placing her hands on her cheeks. "Quiet, almost like Mori! His eyes were the prettiest dark green and his chestnut hair fell over the side of his face adding to his ethereal quality!" She sighed and dropped into a seat.

"I guess that answers the material question," Duo said.

"We'll still need to—"

"—see for ourselves, though."

Heero surprised them by speaking up, "It sounds like Suoh and Ohtori are showing him around. You can probably catch sight of him during lunch."

"Wow, Heero, didn't realize you were also curious," Duo teased.

"I'm not."

The twins slid over and placed their hands on top of Heero's head. "You're in denial," they sang until Heero forcibly removed their hands.

Haruhi watched Hikaru rub his wrist with a wince and Kaoru glance over his own hand. "Geez, Yuy, you sure got quite the grip," Kaoru said as he gave his hand an experimental flex.

Her brow furrowed when Duo wrapped his arm around Heero's shoulder and his only retaliation was a shrug. "Let's go check this guy out at lunch!" Duo grinned, distracting the twins from their sore limbs. "Ya think Milord and Kyoya will be taking the guy to the cafeteria?"

"No doubt."

The homeroom teacher finally walked into the room, seconds before the bell. He dropped a stack of books onto his desk causing a number of students with their backs to him to jump. Haruhi noticed how he avoided direct eye contact with Duo. The teacher's gaze scanned the whole room, but would avoid the braided teen as he tried to get the class in order. Despite how the Maxwell House heir may have impressed the other teachers yesterday, the homeroom teacher still kept a distance.

With the help of President Kazukiyo, the class finally settled down and they were able to begin. Haruhi couldn't help but wonder why she was becoming so curious about the new transfers. It really wasn't like her to considered things like new transfers so much, but with the two already in her class and the newest one in Tamaki and Kyoya's class she wanted to know more.

She would figure out what to make of not only Heero, but Duo and the other three she had yet to meet. Even if she had to deny the law of physics and relativity, she would make them budge and find out what draws her attention to them like gravity.

* * *

Once the bell toned for lunch, Trowa braced himself. He had been watching Tamaki literally twitch in his seat for the last five minutes before the students were dismissed. All of the blonde's "twitchiness" was directed at him. It wasn't any paranoid, soldier sixth sense that told him; it was quite obvious with the way Tamaki would swivel in his seat, like a rod was shoved up his ass to act like an axis for him to turn on as he glanced back.

Trowa made an "Hn," sound to pass as a withheld chuckle. Axis. More like "ass"-is.

And people believed he had no sense of humor.

It took all the time between the first and second chime for Tamaki to plant himself next to Trowa's desk, an eager look plastered on his face. "Let's go to the cafeteria, Barton!" He moved to grab Trowa's wrist, but ended up only jamming his fingers against the desk.

Trowa had pulled his hand away on reflex and stood up from his seat before Tamaki had time to process the movement. "I hope you weren't planning on dragging me there, Suoh."

The blonde fumbled, making his intentions of dragging the pilot away more than clear. "Well, I—" He was cut off when Kyoya dropped a hand to his shoulder. Apparently, the threat from earlier was still fresh in his mind since his mouth snapped shut and his skin went just a shade lighter.

"Ohtori," Trowa greeted. _The man who can suck one's spirit with a single touch._

"If you would like, Barton," Kyoya pushed Tamaki to the side, a smile just brushing his lips, "we can show you the way to the cafeteria."

"I would appreciate it." Trowa watched Tamaki tip further over, frozen from the other teen's touch. Luckily, he caught himself before he went on a crash course into a desk. With a sweeping brush of his blonde hair, Tamaki visibly collected himself, practically picking up pieces of him that crumbled away when Kyoya warned him with a simple touch.

Kyoya was definitely the vampire to Tamaki's shiny, innocent virgin.

"If you would follow me." Kyoya started down the row, idly grabbing Tamaki by the back of his collar. "We will need to head down to the first floor in order to get to the cafeteria."

Trowa nodded to his back as they made their way out of the classroom. He walked a step behind Kyoya, watching the teen greet the students they past but never stopping to converse. It was a sight different than Tamaki, who would pause at every group and strike up a dialogue with extravagant hand gestures and smiles.

The stark difference between the two struck Trowa as rather intriguing. He wanted to say the two reminded him of Heero and Duo. The flamboyant and the subtle. The assassin and the joker.

Trowa shook his head. It really wasn't like him to make analogies but it seemed this infiltration had him getting in touch with his inner poet. And his inner comedian—which should probably be put back in his box of discarded identities. He might have to explore the novelist identity, though. It was a rather interesting venue to travel. But just like how Heero's and Duo's improbable relationship worked, Tamaki and Kyoya foiled each other in every sense of the idea.

Kyoya stopped in front a set of double doors. They were probably imported oak and hand carved. The handles were a shiny brass and the threshold was outlined with more of the same pillars Trowa encountered in the bathroom. Instead of opening them, he glanced over his shoulder. "It looks like I'll be able to introduce you to a couple other members of the Host Club."

Trowa looked past him to see a group of students walking towards them. Duo was sandwiched between two teens, his arms wrapped around the shoulders of the identical twins. They had to slouch to accommodate Duo's smaller frame, but the three were too busy laughing and finishing each other's sentences to pay too much notice. A petite boy followed a pace behind them and Heero was two paces behind him.

Trowa immediately felt something off concerning the boy; he just wasn't sure what. Maybe he was too _soft_ looking—not just around the edges—but his whole self. Even with that air about him, Heero was still treating him like an unknown variable and that was enough to keep Trowa on his guard.

"Where's Milord?" the twins and Duo chimed together.

"We lost him on the way here," Kyoya answered and left it at that. He continued, almost managing to drown out the other boy's mumbled comment of, "Is he even allowed to wander on his own?"

"I have to give him some freedom, Haruhi, in order for him to learn." He made a gesture that should have been just labeled as a 'shrug' but with the way he did it made it something much more refined. "I would like to introduce you to our class's newest addition," he held out his hand, palm up, drawing their attention completely on Trowa, "this is Trowa Barton from the L3 colonies."

The twins slid out of Duo's hold and slinked up to Trowa. They splintered off from each other to circle around him before meeting again in front. They gave him one more thoughtful once-over before Duo slipped between them, taking up his previous position.

"I'm Hikaru," the one on Duo's left said.

"I'm Kaoru," the other said.

"We're the Hitachiin twins!"

"And I'm Duo Maxwell." He flashed him a grin with a wave of his fingers.

Even if Trowa was going to say something, he wouldn't have had the chance. The three left no room in their immediate rundown of his apparent looks, going into a huddle as they glanced over their shoulders. Maybe he should have felt flattered, but it was hard for him to when he felt he was on display. They must have gotten the habit from Tamaki.

"He's definitely good looking," the one who Trowa was sure introduced himself as Kaoru said.

"Nice eyes too." Duo actually winked at him.

"He has the same vibe as Mori, though," Hikaru—Kaoru?—said.

"Agreed." Duo and the other twin nodded.

As Trowa rolled his eyes, he caught Kyoya pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "That's why I _suggested_ to Tamaki that we would refrain from instating him into the Host Club."

The three went off into a debate whether or not they would still take the bet, even dragging Kyoya into the discussion. Trowa's attention was torn away when the boy heaved a sigh and approached him.

"Since they're too caught up in their bet to actually bother explaining how you fit into it, basically if you're material, they are one step closer to winning, but if you're not, Tamaki is." The boy shrugged. "I'm Haruhi Fujioka; it's nice to meet you." He smiled.

Heero's wariness made sense; he felt it too.

It was an unease on a different level than what he felt with Kyoya. The Ohtori teen was a known VIP and his reputation for organization, calculation and borderline manipulation was obvious in the background file Trowa had gone over. It was a significant red flag. There was very little information on this student, though; just little notes Trowa remembered from the lists of being a scholarship student from a single parent family.

Trowa thought it was a little strange Heero didn't mention him—almost an oversight in Trowa's mind—but it could have been because Wing's pilot was still trying to figure out where the boy figured into everything.

"I think it's a good thing you won't be roped up into the Host Club," Haruhi said.

"Why's that?" Trowa raised the eyebrow hidden by his hair.

"Tamaki-senpai, Hikaru, and Kaoru already dragged myself and Heero into—" Haruhi trailed off. "You haven't been introduced yet!" He took the three steps back and grabbed Heero by the sleeve, trying to drag him forward. "C'mon, you should introduce yourself."

Trowa withheld a wince when Haruhi made the grab. He wasn't the only one; Heero did a full-body twitch he managed to mask as a stumble.

Duo was probably applauding the recovery.

"Heero Yuy, a pleasure," Heero said, his tone clipped.

Trowa dipped his head. "Trowa Barton. Oh, thank you for this morning."

Heero grunted a, "You're welcome."

Haruhi cocked his head to the side and Trowa felt the unease wind and tighten in his chest for a brief second. "Heero gave me directions to the chairman's office," he answered before the boy could voice his question.

Trowa noticed the trio split off from their discussion with Kyoya and was rather thankful for it. Trying to keep track of everyone in the vicinity was beginning to become annoying. Not that he would actually show it, but it did loosen some of the tension from his shoulders at having the four of them at his back.

"You saw him this morning?" the three asked Heero.

"Why didn't—"

"—you say—"

"—anything?"

Trowa decided that the "duo-Duo" speech was actually disconcerting, like watching a tennis match with one's ears instead of one's eyes. But he was rather amused by the newly christened language.

Heero crossed his arms over his chest. "You didn't ask."

Trowa's attention was divided again when he kept his eyes on the new group of four while his focus was pulled away to where Kyoya had asked Haruhi to come with him for a moment. He watched them in his periphery, knowing the other two pilots were doing the same.

"There you are!"

Heero's eyes narrowed, Duo's grin widened, and Trowa bit back a sigh. Tamaki sauntered up to them with a group of girls trailing behind a few steps.

"I've been looking for you, Barton." Tamaki clapped a hand to his shoulder. "I thought you may have gotten lost!" He slipped the hand to his chest and brought the other to his forehead. "It would have been tragic! The newest student getting lost in our great school only to be suddenly assaulted by a group of class D students intent on holding him hostage for ransom money, just to realize he is a mere scholarship student from the colonies and whose family could—in no way—pay the demanded sum." The girls behind him gasped, only to fuel the sparkling aura surrounding him

"Milord, you're being delusional," the trio accused, their tone flat.

"Ohtori was showing me the way; I don't think I could have gotten lost with him leading." Trowa rather prided himself on being one of the calmest of the pilots. If one wanted to tag an emotion on him, stoic would be in the top three with taciturn and apathetic. Far be it from him to not admit to himself that he did actually _snap_ at Tamaki. How Kyoya put up with him was a mystery Trowa did _not_ want to investigate. The air around the blonde seemed to be sucked away in an instant; probably drawn by the sudden creation of a black hole known as annoyance that replaced Trowa's apathy. Duo and the twins bit back laughter, masking it as a couple of coughs.

Tamaki swallowed, his charming momentum momentarily stunted. "Oh, well, why don't we make our way into the cafeteria?" Each word he said was a push against the inertia forced upon his charisma. By the end of his sentence he was able to pick up the velocity lost in the face of Trowa's immovable irritation.

"Lead the way," Trowa said, leaving the "If you can," unspoken, though clearly implied. Despite the order, Trowa turned to the double doors and opened them himself. He entered the room with Tamaki scrambling. Heero, Duo, and the twins followed, the latter trying to convince him to sit with them. Declining the offer, he ignored the way the trio complained and cajoled him into accepting.

It didn't take long for them to grow bored of the impassive—rather, lack of—response. Instead, they took it upon themselves to convince Heero to try one of the lunch selections as a treat from the twins since Haruhi had yet to return from his discussion with Kyoya.

Duo did most of the convincing, much to Hikaru and Kaoru's astonishment.

It took a bit more effort than his aloof personality to shake off Tamaki, who had made a full recovery and was picking up speed. He kept up with Trowa as the pilot looked for a distraction to shake off the Host Club king. He already had a target in mind, one that he had noticed earlier in class. He only hoped he would find the person in the cafeteria, lest he take up the offer to join Heero and the other three.

"Barton, if you'll notice—"

Trowa successfully tuned him out. One part of his mind did keep a tab on the one-sided conversation of the extravagant architecture, the menu made for those of sophisticated palettes, and the history of the actual dining hall.

There. Target located.

He lengthened his stride and made his way to the table occupied by only one person. "Excuse me, may I join you?"

The girl looked up from the book she was reading. Her dark hair laid flat against her back, pulled back from her face by a simple clip. Her dark eyes were stern and uncompromising behind her thin-wired glasses as she considered him. Before a word could pass her lips, she caught sight of Tamaki and her eyes narrowed. "I would not mind your company. But I'm afraid that there is a rather bothersome air that seems to be clinging you. I don't believe this particular presence is your fault, since you seem to be a considerate person, who knows that one shouldn't interrupt another without any reason. But I believe you have a particular reason for bothering me, and I don't necessarily find you to be a person who could be described with the word 'annoying'. Unlike some."

Trowa counted a total of two breaths through the whole dialogue and noticed that her voice went colder with each word spoken. He was surprised it didn't crack under the icy weight it held on the last two words.

Tamaki was completely frozen. His resolved shattered by deadpanned tone the girl indirectly directed at him.

The pilot nodded to the girl. "I understand." He glanced behind him. "Suoh, thank you for enlightening me on the history of this place, but I think I can handle myself for here on out." He watched the blonde numbly incline his head before turning on his heel to stagger away, his legs not quite wanting to function.

The atmosphere jumped up a few degrees once Tamaki had taken a seat with Heero and the trio. The girl returned her full attention back to Trowa. "Now that air seems to have taken a better turn, Trowa Barton, may I inquire as to why you would want to associate yourself with me, whom you don't even know?"

He took the seat across from her. "Maybe I needed to get rid of that tension."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she considered his words. "So you would attempt to use me as a means to get rid of excess baggage? That hardly seems proper, especially since we're still strangers to each other."

"I wouldn't quite call us strangers, Ayame Jonouchi; we just have yet to be properly introduced." Trowa was quite surprised he was being rather talkative. "If you feel like I was using you, I apologize. But allow me to introduce myself to make amends for such a slight. I'm Trowa Barton." The way this girl seemed to rattle off sentences with hardly a breath seemed to rub off on Trowa as he held out a hand to her.

She took a moment to consider his offer before wrapping her own fingers around his in a delicate grip. "Ayame Jonouchi, Vice-chairman of the Student Council. Now I guess there's another reason why you wished to speak with me."

Trowa withdrew his hand. "I was curious to know if there are any positions open in the Student Council."

She tapped the side of her glasses' frame before smiling. "I'm sure we can find a job for you."

* * *

"What's the matter, Kyoya?" Haruhi asked as she watched the group head into the cafeteria. He had kept the conversation between them bland, sticking to subjects like how she was adjusting to the classes, how much she still had on her debt, and other things he would have already have known. She could only guess the reason was he had something to tell her that he didn't want to be overheard by the others. Whether "the others" meant the other Host Club members or just concerning the new transfers remained to be seen.

"What do you think of the two newest additions to your class?" He wasted no time, abandoning the distraction topics and went straight to the heart of the matter. "And Haruhi, please answer with as many details as you can and I will subtract from your debt depending on how helpful your response is."

She gritted her teeth with a thought of, _Conniving, rich bastard, _before she sighed and considered his question. "Well, there is something about them I can't quite put my finger on."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like… With Heero, he has this warning sign above his head that should mean something bad, but you can't help be attracted to his… I don't know what it is." She sighed and brushed back her hair from her eyes. "It sounds corny to say this, but he has this purity about him; a charisma on par with Tamaki-senpai. Just not as bright and annoying."

Kyoya propped his chin on his fist in thought. "Yes, I can see what you mean. Anything else?"

She went silent again, reviewing her own previous thoughts on the two. "It's strange…" she trailed off.

"Yes?"

"Heero is so cautious when it comes to casual touch but when Duo approaches him, he takes it almost grudgingly, accepting the arm around the shoulder or whatever. But he reacts harshly when it comes to other people."

"I've noticed that as well these past two days in the club, but I think it helps that you're around." Kyoya sighed. "I thought of convincing Tamaki to drop Yuy from the club because of that Dangerous Type, but his presence has increased revenue 17% so I hesitate on that decision."

"And then there's Duo."

Kyoya chuckled. "Yes, Duo Maxwell is a great addition to the club, adding a rather chaotic element to the twin's selling point." He tipped his head to the side, the smile still painted on his lips. "But I take it you've noticed something about him as well."

"The homeroom teacher is terrified of him," she blurted, the words tumbling from her mouth and bypassing the filter in her brain. "It's only been the second day he's been here, but I _know _there is something sharp beneath that exterior smile."

Kyoya didn't even look surprised by Haruhi's admission. "So you've noticed as well. I am certain Hikaru and Kaoru realized it and are sticking close to him as a result. But the fact you mentioned about Heero almost being comfortable around Duo is something that should be watched more closely."

Her hands tightened into fists as she dipped her head to stare at her shoes. "Kyoya? Why are you asking me all of this?"

"No particular reason."

Her head snapped up. "That's a lie."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"You've already noticed something about Trowa, haven't you?" she pressed. "Do you think there's a connection between the three—"

"Haruhi." His voice stopped her. "I'm not trying to dig up any conspiracy about the new students and it would be wise for you refrain from doing so." His fingers reached into his uniform jacket and pulled out a small notebook and a pen. He took a moment to scribble something down before continuing. "I will ask you to continue to keep an eye on the new transfers, including the ones who have yet to arrive and report to me anything else you deem strange about them." He clicked the pen once to retract the point and returned it and the notebook to his inside pocket. "I have subtracted a set amount from your debt that will increase by a percentage depending on the information you will provide from here on."

Haruhi sighed and accepted the role of informant Kyoya had basically coerced her into. "No need to twist my arm," she mumbled.

"I'm glad you see things my way." Kyoya smiled brightly.

_Jerk._ Haruhi wanted to think more venomous insults, but was interrupted by the bell.

"I apologize for keeping you from your lunch, Haruhi. Will you be alright for the rest of the day?" Kyoya asked.

She couldn't tell if he was entirely sincere but she shrugged off his inquiry. "I'll be fine."

"Good, I would hate to see your performance decline in the club. Have a good rest of the day." He smiled as he slipped into the crowd exiting the cafeteria.

Not as sincere as she had thought.

_Bastard._

* * *

Wufei had finally finished the chores Quatre had requested of him. The dishes were done, the pantry was organized, the refrigerator stocked, and all the security cameras and alarms were checked and double-checked. Instead of settling down on the couch with a book, he decided a better idea would be to meditate on the floor of the bedroom he shared with Quatre.

It felt good to cleanse himself of all the little stresses and to mentally prepare himself for the race he promised Duo. Even though it was still going to be a few hours before the other pilot would be back, Wufei knew that preparing now would help him counter any tricks Maxwell thought to throw at him.

He smiled at some of the retaliations he thought of to Duo's assured underhanded tactics. While he may outwardly fault and deem Deathscythe's pilot dishonorable for resorting to such tricks, he would be the first to admit that they came in handy for keeping him on his toes.

Now, what the hell was that annoying bell tone?

Wufei's eyelids flew open as he scrambled to his feet. Someone was actually ringing the front doorbell!

He heard Quatre curse from the Command Center. It had to have been bad considering Wufei could hear him through the shut bedroom door. "Wufei!"

Grabbing his gun from the bedside table, he held it against his thigh as he bolted out of the room to meet Quatre. "What is it?" His question was punctuated by another ring of the bell followed by a harsh tattoo of knocks.

Quatre had his own pistol out, holding it in a two-handed grip and keeping it pointed to the ceiling. "OZ soldiers!" he hissed.

"Damnit!" He slammed a fist against the wall. "Have we been compromised?"

The knocking continued followed by a shout. "We know there is someone here! Open the door!"

The blonde placed a hand on Wufei's shoulder, his brow furrowing in thought. The gun lowered until it was pointed at the floor. "No," he said carefully, "I don't think that's the case. If we've been compromised, they would have kicked down the door by now."

"What should—"

"Quiet!" Quatre snapped. "Give me a second."

Wufei kept himself from rising to the sharp order, knowing that Quatre was working on the best way to get out of the situation.

"Give me your gun, pilot." Quatre's voice went cold and his eyes were hard. It was a voice that Wufei would never _dream_ of disobeying. "Answer the door. I'm _sure_ you're a good enough actor to pull off being awakened from a sickness-induced nap."

Wufei placed his gun in Quatre's waiting hand and pulled out his hair tie. He ran his fingers through the strands, messing it up as best he could. Untucking his tank-top, he quickly toed off his shoes and went to answer the door. Before pulling open the door, he assumed a slouch, dropping his shoulders so one of the straps slipped down, and managed a grimace across his visage. "Yes?" He added a strained lilt to his voice, hoping it sounded pathetic enough to pass for a sick person.

The two OZ soldiers at the door winced when the saw they were dealing with a sick teen. "Sorry to bother you," one said, clearing his throat. "We were around the area recruiting for the Specials and heard there was an of-age possibility that had recently moved in here."

Wufei slouched against the door, hating himself for playing the role. "I'm only 15." He coughed into his hand, before wrapping his arm around his stomach. "I don't know if that's the legal age to recruit…" He allowed himself to trail off.

The two soldiers traded a glance. "When you turn 18, keep the Specials in mind," the other one said.

"Again, sorry to bother you." The first held out his hand but thought better of it when Wufei coughed. "Hope you feel better, kid."

"Thanks." He let his weight close the door. Reapplying all of the locks, he pushed off the door and stormed back to the Command Center where Quatre had barricaded himself to keep out of sight. "What the hell was that?" he demanded as he flung open the door.

Quatre was watching the monitors, making sure the two soldiers had left and also double-checking to see if they happened to decide to leave any types of bugs or transmitters around the perimeter. "That was you following my orders and ensuring that our cover wouldn't be blown."

"And why couldn't you do it?" Wufei jerked his strap back into place and did his best to fix his hair.

"I'm quite recognizable being the only son of the Winner family."

"And you think I'm not?" Wufei snapped. "I confronted Treize on his ship after the New Edwards's incident. I think they would have had footage of my duel with him."

Quatre actually laughed at him. "Trust me, Wufei, you were very impressive with your acting. Even if they had your description, with your performance it would have been hard to make the connection." He bit back another laugh. "I never knew you had it in you to be so pathetic."

"Winner, I respect you, but you're pushing it."

"And the best thing is," Quatre smirked, "I have the whole thing on the security footage."

"Don't you _dare_!"

* * *

Once lunch was over the rest of the day went by in a rather uneventful manner. Trowa walked with Ayame back to their classroom while she explained what job he might be given if he still wanted to be in the Student Council. From what she had described, it sounded like he would technically be the running dog for them.

The advantages of being an errand boy were too good to pass up. He would be able to have connections throughout the whole school, access to more files without having to hack into the server, and a direct line with the faculty. It was very promising.

By the time the final bell sounded, Trowa already had a good idea of what he wanted to do while working with the Student Council. He stood to catch up with Ayame, who was standing by the door at the front of the class. The two of them were going to head over to the room where the Student Council met. Before he could take another step, he felt Kyoya come up behind him.

"I see you found someone to help you around the school," Kyoya said with a smile.

Trowa nodded. "I appreciate the help, but I think I can manage now with the help of Miss Jonouhi."

"Very well." Kyoya turned and started to walk away. But he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Though I think Tamaki wanted to ask you to visit the club room, I don't know why. And I don't quite understand why he couldn't ask you himself." He looked over at the back entrance to the class.

Trowa followed his gaze and saw the blonde cowering in the hall, his fingers curled around the doorframe as he peered into the classroom.

"Trowa? Are you coming?" Ayame asked as she walked over to him. Her eyes followed their gazes. Trowa was positive the temperature dropped. A squeak came from the hall. It was a pathetic sound, like the noise one would expect to come from a Pomeranian puppy when it was stepped on. Trowa never liked the walking Pompoms in the first place. He was more of a cat person. A _big _cat person.

"I don't understand either," Trowa answered. "I suppose I could stop by and see what this place is about."

"If that is the case, I will go on ahead to the Student Council. If you need directions, I am sure that Kyoya would be able to point you in the right direction once you finish your business with the Host Club." When she saw Kyoya give an affirmative, she turned around and headed to the other door. "I certainly hope you will not become tangled in the dazzling façade that they deem to put on there." With the final parting shot, she walked out.

"I would like to thank you for accepting, Barton, I know Tamaki would not have stopped pouting if you had not." He waited for Trowa to catch up with him.

The two of them headed out of the classroom, greeted by Tamaki who had regained his composure. "I'm glad you've decided to at least see the Host Club. And this way we can get the final say on who gets the point in the bet."

Trowa didn't bother to reply. He followed the two of them in silence, allowing Tamaki to ramble about not only the merits of his club, but the whole history and purpose. It gave Trowa time to consider how Heero got dragged into such a place. If the pilot had to have so much social contact with the patrons of the club, he could only imagine how Heero had not gone into conniptions from his reflexes. Though it was a good thing Duo was there to act as a barricade to any potential "meltdowns". But Duo had his own reflexes that needed to be watched as well. Hopefully, there haven't been too many people who had insulted his hair, save the 1-A homeroom teacher.

Tamaki pushed open a door Trowa saw was labeled as "Music Room 3". It swung open easily, emitting an aura Trowa was hesitant to label. The sweet fragrance of roses and the accompaniment of lighthearted music distracted him from the bright, shiny glow of the room.

"Welcome to the Host Club!" chorused a group. The welcome was followed by another chorus consisting of 'squees', giggles, and "Tamaki!"s.

The blonde went to the closest girl and took hold of her hand. Dropping to one knee, he placed a kiss on her knuckles. "My dear, you are my North Star, with you, I can never be lost."

Trowa gagged.

"Barton, it would be prudent to leave Tamaki where his is; he's already lost himself in the inanity of his actions." Kyoya said and placed a hand on the pilot's shoulder. "I can introduce you to the two remaining Hosts. Then, if you would like, you may be on your way to the Student Council room."

Weaving through the group of swooning Tamaki fans, the two of them stood in front of the other Hosts who were politely conversing with some of the girls. Trowa watched the twins and Duo lead a group of three girls to a table, chatting and laughing amongst them. Haruhi stood next to Heero with a hand casually placed on his arm as he did most of the talking. He made eye contact with Trowa and gave a quick wave. The last two were a tall dark-haired teen with a young-looking blonde perched on his shoulders. The two girls standing with them were laughing at how the blonde talked about the sweets they were planning on serving.

Kyoya approached them and cleared his throat. "I apologize for bothering you, but Tamaki thought it would be a good idea to show the newest transfer the Host Club. Hunny, Mori, ladies, this is Trowa Barton."

The blonde jumped down from his perch, landing easily in front of Trowa. His wide, brown eyes looked up at him as a smile split his face. "Hello, Tro-kun!" He grabbed the hand of one of the girls and spun around with her once before facing Trowa again. "It's nice to meet'cha! Call me Hunny!"

"Nice to meet you, you may call me Mori," the tall teen said as he bowed slightly.

The girls greeted him with shy smiles, meek "hello"s, and, thankfully, none of the over-exuberant shrieks he witnessed from the girls around Tamaki and the one girl from that morning.

"A pleasure." He glanced over the two third years. Oh, yeah, those two were definitely a threat. It wasn't just the casual way they held themselves, but the way the two of them watched everything going on in the room. Almost like a tag-team effort. Hunny would provide the distraction—also making up for his partner's silence—while the other would keep closer tabs on the room.

If Tamaki was the king, Kyoya was the advisor, the twins were the watchmen, and Hunny and Mori would be the guardians. The only one who didn't quite fit into the dynamic was Haruhi.

"Did Tama-chan ask you to join?" Hunny asked, lacing his fingers behind his back as he leaned forward.

Trowa nodded. "I declined."

"Oh, that's a shame." The boy pulled out a stuffed bunny and proceeded to talk to it. "Right, Bun-bun?"

"I also decided it would provide too much competition for Mori's position," Kyoya interrupted. Trowa thought he caught a sigh of relief from the taller third year. "But I will have to give the twins the point for the bet. Unless you think otherwise, Mori."

Mori shook his head. "No, if Tamaki wanted him to join, then there must have been something that caught his eye."

"You don't have to worry about being replaced, Takeshi!" Hunny jumped up and clung to his arm, the bunny dangling from his fingertips.

Kyoya propped his chin in his hand. "Hm, I supposed I should break the news to Tamaki then." He blinked and seemed to realize that Trowa was still standing there. "Oh, I suppose you are probably free to head on your way."

Trowa wasn't going to ignore the casual dismissal. He knew Kyoya wouldn't forget he was still standing there; he just didn't understand what the other teen was playing at. It couldn't have been a test; there wasn't much to test him on. Unless he was waiting to see if Trowa would request directions to the Student Council room—which he already knew where it was—but if that was the test, it wasn't a very subtle one. He had expected better. "I suppose I should thank you for showing me the club room, but there really wasn't a need for you to."

Kyoya gave an elegant shrug. "Tamaki did request it."

"I should be on my way," Trowa said as he adjusted his jacket. "May I bother you for directions?"

Kyoya smiled. "I can have someone show you the way."

Trowa did not like the way the black-haired teen smiled. It was the whole spider-web-insect concept. It was like playing chess with Quatre. He forced a smile in return, hoping that it didn't crack along the edges. "If it's not a bother it would be appreciated."

"It's really no trouble at all."

If his smile curled any more, Trowa would be certain he had just signed his soul over to Satan unwillingly and with no recollection of what he was getting in return.

Putting Quatre and Kyoya in the same room would be awe-inspiring.

"Haruhi, can you come here for a moment?" Kyoya called over to the group on the couches. The girls looked slightly nervous with the thought of Haruhi leaving them in Heero's presence alone, but it was alleviated when the trio brought their group over.

"Did you need something?" Haruhi cocked his head to the side as he regarded the two.

"Yes," Kyoya gestured to Trowa, "would you show Barton the way to the Student Council room?"

"But I don't—"

Kyoya cut him off. "It's on the first floor, down the hall that connects with the middle school, third door on the left. You can't miss it."

Haruhi sighed in defeat. Looking up at Trowa, he gave a strained smile. "Well, we should probably get going."

Trowa nodded and glanced at Kyoya before turning to follow the other out of the Host Club room. He didn't miss the way Kyoya's eyes narrowed in scrutiny as the door shut behind him. Then again, leaving Quatre and Kyoya in the same room would be like having two nuclei come close enough together with all the energies of their particular personalities managing to fuse together. The results would be nothing short of creating a hydrogen bomb, which will then explode on the principle.

A nuclear meltdown that would cause the whole world to shudder.

* * *

Haruhi led Trowa away from the club room, glancing over her shoulder and back at him every few seconds. _What does Kyoya want me to do? Draw my own conclusions about this guy? Even though he's the one who didn't want to start any conspiracies? _Haruhi sighed and watched where she was going. _Like I'm going to be able to figure anything out about him in this short of time._

"Ohtori is an interesting guy."

Haruhi tripped, startled by his voice. She stopped and turned to face him. He had stopped as well, waiting for her to make the next move. It was reminiscent of her encounter with Heero. "Yeah, I guess."

Trowa took a step forward and passed her. The main staircase seemed quiet as he proceeded to walk down it. He paused after a few steps, placing his hand on the railing. "You know, I believe I can find my way from here if you want to head back."

Haruhi shook her head and sprinted to the landing. "I couldn't do that." She met him on the step.

"Why?"

Haruhi thought about it for a moment before she figured the most likely course of action Kyoya would take if she didn't take Trowa all the way to the Student Council room. "I'll probably get more added to my debt."

He hummed in thought before continuing down the steps, making sure to stay in step with Haruhi. "So what is this debt of yours?"

Haruhi gritted her teeth. She really hated the thought of having to owe the Host Club for breaking that _stupid_ vase. It really wasn't her fault; Tamaki cornering her and her accidently bumping into the pedestal in the _middle _of the room. She did promise to work it off, and despite how unintentional the deed was, she would stay true to her word and find a way to pay for it.

She relaxed when she realize that Trowa really wasn't judging her for her debt; he was a scholarship student too. He understood what it felt like being surrounded by rich people on every front. "I broke an expensive vase and agreed to pay for it by working in the Host Club."

Trowa nodded.

The two of them reached the ground level. Haruhi glanced around before pointing to the left. "It's this way." They continued in silence for another moment before she spoke up again. "Trowa, what are the colonies like? Is it bad up there with all the unrest?" She felt his gaze on her through the fringe of his hair. It was unnerving.

"It's not that much different. Just think of the world being inverted and then you have what the colonies are like." He shrugged. "Just how informed are you about the war?"

Haruhi looked down at her feet, watching them pad along on the tiled floor. "Just from what I catch on the military news reports; I don't hear much here from people who have connections. Maybe a few tidbits about a relative getting a promotion or some new technology." She felt him look away.

"It depends on what side you find yourself. If one is upset with the treatment of the colonies by both the Earth Alliance and OZ you will find that they see there is much unrest. But if one is on the other end of the spectrum, they'll say things aren't that bad and try to live their own life without getting involved." He lengthened his stride and stepped in front of her. "Those who don't know much are the ones content with their lives; the ones who are informed with what is going on will be the ones who are unhappy with the current Earth and Space affairs."

"And how informed are you?" She looked up at him.

Trowa held her gaze.

It was a moment where time felt like it stretched—thinning the layers of reality and distorting space itself—before crashing back in a rush.

Trowa walked away. "I can see the room. Thank you."

Haruhi watched him leave. She didn't need to press the issue. She didn't need to hear the words from his mouth. She didn't need to have him confirm if her conclusion was correct.

She needed to talk to Kyoya.

* * *

It seemed to be a start of a new custom for the pilots to gather around the counter once everyone was home after school and club activities were let out. Heero and Wufei were standing on the side in the kitchen while Quatre and Trowa took the other side. The only one they were waiting to arrive was Duo.

"What's taking him so long?" Wufei asked. He didn't want to admit it, but he was rather anxious to get to their race. Meditating and trying to practice _katas_ in the small bedroom wasn't satisfying his need to do something. They could only provide so much for a time. The last major combat he had was when he helped Sally Po's rebel outfit against Bundt's rule and that was well over a month ago.

Quatre sighed and wrapped his hands around the mug of tea he had poured himself. "I'm sure Abdul is taking some precautions not to draw attention to them and to make sure they're not being followed."

The four heard the locks being quickly disarmed and the door swing open. Duo practically skipped in, kicking his shoes off as he went about reapplying every lock he undid. "I'm home!" he sang. He walked over to the end of the counter and spread his hands across it. "Briefin' time, right?"

Wufei noticed the braided teen vibrate with more energy than usual. He hoped it was just because of anticipation for their race, but his pessimism got the better of him, especially with the odd tension coming from the other two who returned from school.

"What happened?" Quatre finally asked.

"Retaining our cover at Ouran may be more difficult than we may have first thought," Heero answered, cutting straight to the point like a sharpened blade.

It was one thing Wufei respected the pilot for; he didn't allow for anything to be a distraction when it came to a mission. But it was worrisome when Heero admitted the possibility of trouble.

"Our movements are actually being closely observed." Duo leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I know the Hitachiin twins are not sticking close to me just because of my charm; they've been keeping tabs on me. I don't know how secure my identity of being the Maxwell House Coffee heir is; because I know they're digging into it. Hopefully ole' Pestilence didn't just throw the cover together on a whim."

"Ohtori and Haruhi are watching us closely as well," Trowa said. "I believe they've picked up on something about us that doesn't match what students should be."

"Well, yeah, we're terrorists," Duo laughed bitterly. "I'm sure it's bound to stain us in some way."

"Is it enough that we should abort the mission?" Quatre took a sip from his cup, watching the others from half-lidded eyes.

"No." Wufei wasn't surprised that it was Heero to answer first and firmly but he was surprised when he continued, "I believe this mission is important. And I'm going to follow my emotions on this one. We need to stay and see this through to the end."

"And what end would that be?" Wufei shot.

Heero slightly turned his head and met his gaze. "Whatever end."

"In any case," Trowa interrupted, "while these few may be keeping tabs on us, I believe I have found a way to watch them in turn."

Duo leaned back on the counter. "Is this the whole thing with declining Tamaki and leaving with Haruhi?"

Trowa nodded. "I'm going to be a running dog for the Student Council. It'll provide me with a number of chances to get in contact with, not only students, but with a number of teachers. I believe I can use this to our own advantage."

Quatre set his mug down. "That certainly sounds like a good plan. But there are two VIPs that I wonder if we're paying enough attention to."

"Morinozuka and Haninozuka," Heero said.

Quatre nodded. "Exactly. Those two belong to families who actually train Special Ops for OZ; we need to find a way to connect with them."

"The only time I hang with them is during club time." Duo shrugged. "And even then, I usually have my hands full with the twins—even though there hasn't been much in their file despite having close ties to Suoh."

"I might have an idea," Wufei spoke up drawing their attention to him. He crossed his arms and walked away from the counter. "It won't work until I come, but it shouldn't be too hard to draw their attention."

"So, what's your big plan?" Duo asked.

"There is a Martial Arts club," Wufei said.

"And?" Duo tried pressing.

"I guess we'll see." He headed to the door and grabbed his shoes. "Come on, Maxwell, I've been waiting for this all day so get your ass over here and let's have our race."

Duo glanced down at his uniform and back up. "You're just gonna have to wait until I change."

"Be quick, or else I win by default."

Duo stuck his tongue out and bolted to the bathroom, grabbing his street clothes to change.

Wufei smirked. "Well, that's one way to distract him. Quatre, you might want to inform them of our little run-in with the OZ Specials." He laced up his shoes and opened the door. "Tell Maxwell to hurry up. I'll be waiting for him."

Before the door had the chance to completely close, Duo came running out of the bathroom, doing an odd skip/hop as he pulled on his shoes and managing to slip out the door before it completely closed, his question echoing behind him, "What run-in?"

"OZ Specials?" Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"Have we been compromised?" Heero demanded.

Quatre started to laugh. "No. Though highly entertaining, I promised Wufei I would only show the footage once before erasing it. Luckily he managed to get Duo focused on something else before bringing it up."

Heero and Trowa shared a look.

* * *

**Author's Note:** "Well, I'm here... sorta... at least I think I still am... My mind has been... well, here's the summary of last week: Freud motivation Erikson Piaget Rousseau Skinner adolescence children educational psychology psychosexual stages: oral,anal,phallic,latency,genital id,ego,superego research self-esteem cognitive learning in children in adolescents philosophy of the mind and relations to motivation in psychology morals school systems classroom sizes intentional teaching motives drives instincts behavioral naturevsnurture sociocultural socioemotional socio-dooooooo... system not responding.

"Yes, this past week I have started classes." cries "I was hoping to get this chapter up on the 30th, but it didn't happen. And I didn't meet my almost schedule of posting a new chapter every six months. Anyway, I'm sorry for the "dragginess" of the chapter - and the slow updates don't help either - but hopefully things will start picking up more. Hopefully.

"This chapter kinda threw me in for a loop. It wanted me to write things I didn't want to write until later, but I bowed down to its whim and went with it. But it seems like it's going to change what I had originally planned for this once again. Just like with updates, I can't seem to make any promised with this story. I'm happy that I'm getting in the more serious stuff; keeping up with the humor pace I set with this piece is wearing me down.

"Let's see, what else? Oh! I'm sorry about Tamaki. I honestly love the guy - even though he is the epitome of an _idiot_ - but for some reason with the way I write Trowa, I can't help but cut him down.

"Speaking of Trowa; why did most of this have to be in his perspective! I guess that's the way RGB demanded to be written..." shrugs "Oh, but Ayame was _fun_ to write. I hope to have more of her, before she turns into a Tamaki fan again. I like her when she cuts him down ^.^ But, then, realization hits me. If I want to write more of her, it means I'll need to be in Trowa's POV again.

"Mori and Hunny fans! I know I've been giving them the short end of the stick with air time, but with the way I have things planned out right now, they should be appearing more and more. With so many characters in one place and trying to juggle them all, it's difficult to focus on the main point when I'm worrying about where this character is floating or why did this character randomly drop out of the conversation or something. Hopefully it isn't too noticeable... ehh...

"Next chapter will be up in... no possible way to predict that. Please be patient with me! At least you get a long chapter to amuse yourselves with!" nervous laugh

"Umm... I know there's more that I wanted to say but I feel like I rambled on enough."

**Acknowledgments:** "As always, many thanks to **_Strata-Assassin_** for the beta-read and being the sound-board and the encouragement and the 'Okay, you have five minutes to write nonstop. ('Wait. wha-?') If you stop, I'll smack you with my pen. ('Hey! Hold on!') Starting now.' ('...Ow!')

Special thanks to **_SleepyStar_** as being another source of encouragement!

In typical closing fashion, leave critiques, suggestions, questions, ideas, criticism, whatever in either a review or PM. Much appreciated!

~Death


	8. Quick Draw at the Ouran Corral

_**Chapter 8: Quick Draw at the Ouran Corral **_

"Mr. Winner," Chairman Suoh gestured to the seat in front of his desk, casting Rashid a glance that Quatre wanted to label as 'nervous' as he sat down in his own chair, "it is an honor to have you attending my school, despite your father's position in the colonies."

Rashid must have made some sort of movement that instantly set Suoh on guard. Quatre settled himself in his chair, placing his hands on the armrests. "My father and I," he started slowly, "had a disagreement." He smiled tightly. "I supposed you can say my coming to Earth and attending this institution is a show of rebellion against him. But I guess that makes me sound more like the petulant child than the heir to the Winner Corporation."

With Quatre drawing his attention away from the bodyguard, Suoh started to relax and leaned back in his chair as the look on his face turned into the grandfatherly persona Duo had warned him about that morning.

"_Quat, be careful around the chairman," Duo had said as he laced up his shoes. "Especially when he goes all 'give Grandpa Suoh a hug and he'll make it all better, would you like some candy?' which, saying it out loud, kinda makes him sound like a creeper." Duo had shaken his head. "He's a lot more observant than Heero would like to give him credit for." _

"_I'll be okay, Duo."_

_Duo had laughed. "Yeah, I know. Make sure Rashid doesn't snap him in half." Quatre had given him a flat look that he had just brushed off. "Or maybe I should tell you not to break him and bend him to your Machiavellian will and turn him into a brainwashed underling."_

_Quatre had literally kicked the braided pilot out of the door after that comment._

"That may be so," Suoh rubbed his chin, "but the experience you gain here may help you and your father's company in the future. You may make ties here that could benefit those who live in the colonies. But as a father myself, I can also say that I wouldn't be too happy with the decision you have made, whatever your reasons." He sighed and stood up. "I'm not here to lecture you, because you _are _an heir to a business and old enough to make your own decisions. Forgive an old man his rambling and let me welcome you to Ouran."

Quatre propped his chin in his palm and gave the chairman a smile. "An old man, you are not, but, please, tell me more about your school. I fear my bodyguard has some qualms about security and leaving me out of his sight."

Rashid made a small noise behind him and Quatre felt the disgruntled emotion radiating off of him. Quatre let his smile slip into a smirk.

"That is understandable. You and your bodyguard can rest assured that you are in the safest environment available." Suoh dropped a hand to the desk and shifted some of the knickknacks around the surface, moving an inkwell away from the edge, straightening the telephone and running his fingers through a pad of post-it notes. "This institution is under the protection of OZ and Romefeller and has been declared as being neutral ground in the current events and unrest."

Quatre raised an eyebrow, dropping his hand back down to the armrest. "Neutral? How can this place profess neutrality when there are direct ties to the war effort?"_Including you, Chairman Suoh_.

Suoh chuckled. "You are a sharp one. I would not be surprised if you tell me you've been able to give your bodyguard the slip."

"Just how is my 'sharpness' related to my ability of separating myself from my bodyguard?"

The chairman gave Quatre an appraising look, the smile lingering on his lips with a hint of something sly. "I wonder." He didn't give Quatre anytime to respond. "In any event, our status as neutral is more to declare our intentions that though we are affiliated with OZ and Romefeller, we are merely a school with no hidden agendas in hope that there won't be another incident such as the one at the Saint Gabriel Institute."

_And yet, here we are_, Quatre couldn't help but think. _Though whether or not we're here to harm remains to be seen. _"I remember hearing about that incident; it was a Gundam attack and yet there were no civilian casualties."

Rashid cleared his throat, managing to startle the two. "As much as I would like to hear a discourse on what determines neutrality, I want assurance that Master Quatre will be safe here. He is not part of Romefeller and Master Winner has actually spoken out against OZ. Master Quatre has positioned himself in a place where he could potentially be surrounded by enemies. He is colony-born and many who are part of the Earth Sphere see that as being an enemy due to the colony rebels who are currently fighting against the control Earth has over the colonies." The bodyguard let a sound pass through his lips, a small sigh. "If I can't be here to protect him, I want to know that he will be safe and there won't be any _heroic_ attempts at trying to hold him for ransom or have him killed as some sort of example for the colonists."

Suoh walked around his desk and stood in front of Rashid. He had to tilt his head up to make direct eye contact, but he managed. "Let me be perfectly honest, I cannot account for everything, just as you cannot account for everything. But I take full responsibility for all my students, whether they are from the colonies or Romefeller."

Quatre glanced at Rashid from around the chairman. He knew Rashid to be overprotective when not on the battlefield even though Quatre had proven time and again that being a Gundam pilot had prepared him for many different situations. If he was impressed by his bodyguard's sheer tenacity, or annoyed by it, it had yet to be determined.

Rashid finally inclined his head. "Very well, I will leave Master Quatre in your care." The smile that started to spread on Suoh's face was erased when the commander of the Maganacs crossed his arms over his chest. "But if anything should happen to Master Quatre, you will be the first one that I am visiting."

Chairman Suoh gulped. "I understand."

"Good." Rashid moved past the chairman and knelt in front of Quatre who was still seated in his chair. "Master Quatre, I will say this one last time, though I know it will not change your mind; I do _not_ like this."

Quatre sat up straighter in his chair. "I know."

"I understand." Rashid stood up. "I will be waiting for you at the end of the school day."

"I hate to butt in, but there are a number of clubs that take place after school," Suoh said.

Rashid glanced heavenward and appeared to mumble a quiet, "Allah."

"I would like to see some of these clubs, Rashid. I will call you fifteen minutes before I am ready to be picked up. Is this alright?" He gave the commander a flat look, but the offer was more for the sake of Chairman Suoh.

"Yes," Rashid gritted, knowing he can't argue with Quatre. "I will wait for you outside. I would like to walk with you through the school and then I will take my leave until you call for me."

Quatre nodded. "Yes."

With a short bow, Rashid walked around the chairman and headed out the door. Suoh relaxed once the door had shut behind the commander and Quatre watched him pick up the pieces of his composure that Rashid had managed to break. With a breathy laugh, Suoh returned his focus to Quatre. "I must say, your bodyguard is an impressive man."

"He must be if he is to be my bodyguard." He stood up from his seat and glanced up at Suoh, his head tilted to the side. "The morning is practically gone, and I have yet to see your school."

Suoh smiled and held out his hand to Quatre. "I will say this again, it really is an honor to have you here."

Quatre took the offered hand, giving it a firm shake. "I don't know if I had expressed this earlier, but I am also honored that this institution has accepted me."

Releasing Quatre's hand, Suoh led him to the door and held it open. The sight that greeted them had Quatre shaking his head in bemusement. The twins were circling around Rashid, gawking at him and exclaiming at just how big he was. Duo hung back, giving Rashid a wary glance, though Quatre could see the corner of his lips trying to hold back a smile.

"You're even taller than Mori-senpai!" the twins said.

Rashid gave Quatre an almost pleading look and even turned his gaze to Duo who moved back to stand by the chairman.

"How much can you lift?"

"You look like you can kill someone with your bare hands."

"Have you ever done that?"

"Did you take steroids when you where younger?"

"Did you grow up near a radioactive testing site?"

"Are you some kind of macho wrestler?"

The twins rattled off the questions like bullets not giving Rashid a chance to answer even if he wanted to; they had already won the quick-draw against the commander.

"Ah, Mr. Maxwell, it seems that you're fitting in splendidly." Suoh clasped his hands behind his back. "Tell me, how are you adjusting?"

Duo shrugged. "S'not bad. It is kinda strange havin' to follow a schedule though. I'm doin' good, the twins have really helped." He rocked back on his heels, his hands pulling his braid over his shoulder in a gesture that could be taken as a nervous habit. "Milord—I mean—Tamaki has also been a big help along with everyone else in the Host Club." He leaned over to gaze at Quatre. "So, is this another transfer?" he asked, gazing sidelong at the chairman.

Suoh clapped a hand on Quatre's shoulder. "This is Quatre Winner, and yes, he is the next transfer."

Quatre stepped away from the chairman and held out his hand to Duo. "I'm Quatre Raberba Winner, pleased to meet you."

Duo grasped his hand. "Duo Maxwell; coffee's the name, caffeine's the game, but decaf's the shame." Receiving a small chuckle from Quatre, he tilted his head at Rashid. "He yours?" Quatre nodded and he continued, "Well, I would hate to be the suspect if anything happens to you and he's the one doing the interrogatin'."

"And I would hate to have anything happen to me that would cause him to have to interrogate you." Quatre smiled.

They watched the twins heckle Rashid for a few more moments before Duo spoke up again, "Yeah, well, nice meetin' ya, but I'm gonna head back to our classroom." He jerked his thumb at the twins. "Unlike them, I seem to have better survival instincts, but I'm sure they'll give you the whole tour. Later!" With a jaunty salute, Duo started to walk backwards and waved to the twins, letting them know he was going on ahead. The twins gave him a quick acknowledgment before returning to their line of questions that were beginning to become rather ridiculous, if the question about being an experimental subject through the use of gamma rays was anything to go by. Once the exchange was over, Duo turned around and headed toward the stairs, a slight spring in his step as he flipped his braid back over his shoulder.

"Misters Hitachiin, since you're here, why don't you show Mr. Winner around the school and where his classes will take place," Suoh said, able to draw their attention away from Rashid.

They zeroed in on Quatre and sauntered up to him with matching grins and matching just-about-everything-else. "Nice to meet you, we're the Hitachiin brothers!"

"I'm Hikaru," the one on the right said.

"I'm Kaoru," said the other.

"And you're the heir to the Winner family's resource satellites in the L4 colony cluster," they said in unison again.

"Yes, I'm Quatre." He smiled as he watched Rashid slump in relief at the lack of attention. The bodyguard straightened when he felt Quatre's gaze. Quatre's attention was drawn away when the twins wrapped their arms around his shoulders.

"It's a shame Duo—"

"—didn't want to stick around."

"But we'll make sure to give you the grand tour!"

Quatre smiled, adjusting himself under the weight of their arms. "That's sounds wonderful. I am grateful."

"Sounds like everything is under control." Suoh smiled. "You're in good hands Mr. Winner. Oh, Hikaru and Kaoru, would you mind telling my son that I would like to speak with him?"

The twins gave a salute that caused Rashid to cringe. Even Quatre had to admit it was so sloppily done that anyone with a military background would instantly cry insubordination.

"No, problem!" They hooked their arms around Quatre's elbows.

No matter how innocent the gesture was or how many times Quatre told himself not to react, he tensed, locking his elbows to his sides, and dug his heels into the ground.

Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed at the movement and even Suoh made a concerned noise. Quatre felt Rashid's tension skyrocket and he mentally cursed, hoping he could salvage the situation. The pressure of trying to conceal their identities—not only in the school, but also in the other social situations the pilots had often found themselves in—was beginning to take its toll. Trying not to be discovered by the Earth Alliance, OZ, and Romefeller, the whole concept of faking normal knowing they were far from it, and the ingrained response to anything that could be correlated with the idea of being 'capture' left very little difference between arms around one's shoulders and arms locking in place around one's elbows.

He forced himself to relax and tried to put on a wavering smile. "Sorry. I would appreciate if you wouldn't do that." Quatre dropped his voice into a faint stutter, lowering his head to the ground. "I-I was kidnapped once and—"

The twins immediately removed their grip. "Sorry, we had no idea."

"Is that true?" Suoh asked, turning to Rashid, surprised.

Rashid inclined his head, picking up the cue from Quatre. "It was before I officially became his bodyguard. There was a traitor within our employees." He lifted his head again and glared. "That is why I am not fond of Master Quatre attending a Romefeller-funded school. I do not want a repeat of that incident."

Hikaru and Kaoru brought up mirrored hands to their chests and bowed slightly. "Quatre will be in good hands with us. We'll take care of him." They placed their free hands on Quatre's head and ruffled his hair. "No need to worry about him when he's with us."

"In fact, the whole Host—"

"—Club will keep an eye on him—"

"—to make sure nothing happens!" they said together. "Now, let's get going!" Their hands went to his shoulders, but that was the extent.

Apparently they could learn.

Rashid didn't look convinced and Quatre knew it wasn't completely part of the ruse. Rashid had worried about him when he went off by himself to the New Edwards base, he had worried about him when he took in Duo after Siberia, and now he was worrying about him being in a school of non-combatants with the other pilots there as back-up. At least it made sense in Rashid's mind.

"Take good care of Mr. Winner, Hikaru, Kaoru. And you might want to start your tour; lunch period is in twenty minutes," Suoh said as he walked over and held out his hand to Quatre one last time. "If there is any trouble at all, please see me. Especially if it is something about your family."

"I will," Quatre promised, taking the offered hand once again. "Thank you, sir."

"Let's go!" the twins crowed once Quatre's hand was released and began to steer him away.

Quatre glanced over his shoulder back at Rashid, who was following a few steps behind. He inclined his head, barely perceivable, but Rashid understood. The commander of the Maganacs needed to keep his eyes open—not only for potential threats, but for anything that could be detrimental to their mission or advantageous.

The Winner heir wasn't worried about being threatened because of his status in the colonies. If anything, he expected many of those connected to Romefeller would try and cater to him, lure him away from the stance his father had taken and possibly start negotiations that would allow Romefeller access to the resource satellites owned by his family.

The only thing he was worried about was what his father would do if he found out Quatre had enrolled in a Romefeller school. He was already unhappy with the whole run-away-and-be-a-Gundam-pilot thing and going against the pacifistic ways of their family.

Any meeting with his father will most likely end up being a gunfight with ideals and words, and—between the two males of the Winner family—that was just about as destructive as the use of a mobile suit.

As Hikaru and Kaoru gave the two infiltrators the tour of the school, Quatre kept a small part of his attention on ways to possibly avoid such a confrontation between him and his father.

* * *

By the time lunch period was half over, most of the school was buzzing over the story of the newest transfer student. Earlier in the day a number of students stated they saw him with his bodyguard go in and visit the chairman, but there had been no sign of him since.

Haruhi felt she was in some sort of knock-off of the American _Twilight Zone_ with the way the past couple of days had been playing out. The world acted like it was on some sort of playback loop as her classmates wondered and chattered about the next new student. There were the additions of Heero and Duo to keep the loop from being completely monotonous—and the hitch Trowa caused was an interesting distraction—but the day still had the same redundant vibe.

This day appeared to be no different.

She sighed and took her seat in the classroom as her classmates began to trickle in.

A chair scraped against the floor. Haruhi jumped and swiveled to see Heero sitting down in his seat. She didn't even hear him come in through the other door at the back of the classroom.

"You're alone?" she asked and flinched slightly when he finally glanced up at her through the fringe of his bangs.

"Duo and the twins decided to see if they could find the next transfer." He shrugged and glanced around at the others who had meandered into the room.

Haruhi relaxed when his gaze left her, not quite understanding why she suddenly felt nervous around him. "Heero, is something wrong?" He had always lived up to his hosting type, but this was the first time she actually felt threatened; felt that there was something very true and very dark that went hand-in-hand with his Dangerous Type.

His eyes snapped back to her and she leaned back. "It's none of your concern."

"You don't have to be rude about it," she snapped, the threatened feeling replaced by annoyance. Her spine tingled when she gave her back to him to pack up her lunch. Shoving the feeling aside, despite what her survival instincts were screaming at her, she scowled. If she went through the trouble of being concerned for him she wouldn't tolerate his brush-off. _Have to deal with rich bastards and now ungrateful, bitter scholarship students. _Haruhi lifted her eyes to the ceiling. _Mom, continue to give me patience._

"Praying doesn't always help, yanno."

Haruhi lowered her eyes and found Duo standing in front of her desk. He had his devil-may-care smirk and his braid draped over his right shoulder. A shoulder that was bare of either of the twins. His comment was too interesting to leave untouched even if just to inquire about Hikaru and Kaoru. "What makes you say that?"

Duo gave an elegant shrug that Haruhi took to say a number of things from "Because there is no God" to "It never worked for me". Haruhi raised an eyebrow, which he just laughed at.

"Sorry, Haruhi, your powers of persuasion won't work on me." He stepped around her desk. "I'm a Rogue, remember, I need my mysterious past."

She watched him to his seat, giving Heero a friendly pat on the shoulder as he went.

_What is with them today?_

It was an anomaly in the monotony of the past three days. A break in the familiar pattern. Heero was on edge about something, Duo being even more cryptic behind his smile—her thoughts flashed to Trowa. She couldn't figure it out. His feelings on the war seemed obvious but she was associating the new 2-A student's opinions with her own classmates. Was it because they all shared the same home—the colonies—for a time? Duo had readily admitted he had spent most of his days in the colonies while roaming around for 'coffee inspiration', did that make him more empathetic toward the colonies' oppression? Or did she just have some type of an ingrained discrimination? Or was there more? With what she witnessed with Trowa, was there more to him, to them, to the others that have yet to arrive?

_Kyoya is making me paranoid._

Her discussion with him the day before hadn't helped, especially when he told her to just keep observing them. All said with a pleasant—fake—smile.

"Earth to Haruhi, or would colonies to Haruhi be more appropriate?" Duo waved his hand at her. "I didn't think you were the type to space out. I thought that was Milord's job. Or maybe you were just so entranced by my mysteriousness."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Where are Hikaru and Kaoru?"

Duo leaned back in his chair, balancing it on the back legs while the hand he used to wave at her flapped limply. "Cornering the new guy and heckling his bodyguard. At least I have self-preservation instincts, this bodyguard is huge! And I don't like the idea of being snapped in half, thank you very much."

"So you met him?"

"Ayup."

"You'll get to meet him soon enough." Heero's voice startled her. "I can hear them coming down the hall." Duo was nodding his head in agreement while she frowned, unable to hear.

She tilted her head to the side and listened. Heero and Duo kept silent. She tried to tune out the spattering of conversation going on in the room. There were a faint number of voices out in the hall, accented by giggles. Haruhi sighed, it sounded like this one was another charmer.

It wasn't long before she could pick out Hikaru and Kaoru's dialogue.

"And here is where—"

"—you'll have home room."

She watched the back door slide open and the twins stepped into the classroom. Following them was a smaller blonde already dressed in a uniform. He couldn't have been any taller than herself and Haruhi felt embarrassed that she thought he looked fragile. His blonde hair was shades paler than Hunny's or Tamaki's and brushed the top of his eyes. The newcomer glanced around, nodding as the group surrounded him added details and anecdotes.

He turned to one of the girls who made a remark about how he had the most wonderful complexion and he should consider the Host Club, which Haruhi was beginning to suspect as some sort of a conspiracy the twins devised to win their bet. But his response to the girl received a number of exclamations. Even though Haruhi wasn't given the full effect, she assumed that the smile he had given her was on par with Tamaki with the way the girls blushed and the sly glances the twins cast each other. While everyone was momentarily stunned, he took the chance to glance around the rest of the classroom.

Haruhi made eye contact and was momentarily frozen. His eyes were a light color, almost a teal shade and had a soft, compassionate awareness. But for a brief moment, she thought she noticed something. Something more. Something harsh. It was that hidden _something_ that had caught her and kept her locked in place. She couldn't be completely sure if she had actually witnessed a glimpse beneath a well-constructed mask or if it was all her imagination. _Damn you, Kyoya and your conspiracies._

Apparently the newcomer wasn't affected by the microsecond exchange, his gaze swept over the rest of the room while the twins ushered him in. "Let's introduce you to the rest of the class," they said as they directed him to Heero, Duo, and Haruhi, standing on the right side of Haruhi's desk.

"Alright." He allowed the hands on his shoulders with a small smile.

"You've already met Duo." They gestured to Heero. "This is Heero Yuy, like you, he's a new transfer; a scholarship student from the colonies."

"I'm Quatre Raberba Winner, it's nice to meet a fellow colonist."

Heero grunted a response and went back to the book he had pulled from his bag.

Quatre tilted his head and glanced back at the twins. "Did I do something?"

They just waved their hands at him and shook their heads in tandem. "Don't worry about it."

"He's unsociable at best." Duo shrugged with a smile. "And uncommunicative at worst."

_Isn't that basically the same thing?_ Haruhi thought.

"And this is Haruhi Fujioka." The twins turned him to face her.

She stood up from her seat. "Hello." She couldn't quite get used to the fact that so far, most of the new transfers were only a few inches taller than her. Quatre was no different, standing just barely an inch or two taller. Despite them being shorter than the rest of the hosts—besides Hunny—it really wasn't _noticeable_. They had a presence to them that made them more than their physical stature.

Of course, being set right next to the other hosts their lack of vertical was kind of hard to ignore even with their unique presence.

"Haruhi is one of our top scholarship students from Earth," they explained.

Quatre nodded. "Impressive. I hope I am able to learn from you as well during my time here."

Haruhi shrugged, uncomfortable with the attention he was giving her. She cleared her throat. "Did you also get a Colony Scholarship?"

Hikaru and Kaoru burst out laughing, resting their elbows on the blonde. "Haruhi, Haruhi," they admonished between chuckles.

"This is the heir to—"

"—the L4 resource colonies owned—"

"—by the Winner family," Duo cut in.

It took a moment, but the dots finally connected. "You mean _the _Winner family of L4?" Haruhi felt her jaw drop. It didn't make _sense_. Why would an heir to what amounted to a colony monarchy want to come to Earth to attend a school? A school whose administration was directly connected with the powers trying to control space?

Quatre smiled. "Yes, that Winner family."

"And because of that, we need to watch out for him while he's here!" the twins announced.

"He'll be under the protection of the Host Club!" Duo slipped over to Heero's desk and leaned on his shoulder. "Plus, with Heero here, he'll be able to scare anyone off who would want to mess with our resident dignitary."

"Geez, if we're going to protect him, why don't we just get him to join the Host Club," Haruhi mumbled, already seeing how much of a hassle this particular, self-imposed assignment was going to be.

"Why, Haruhi, that's a great idea!" the trio said with matching smirks as Duo stepped away from Heero to stand between the twins.

"That's not what I meant!"

"He can be our Noble Type!" they continued, ignoring Haruhi's attempt to take back her suggestion.

Quatre glanced around the group with a confused smile. "I would be honored to see what clubs are offered here. I've never participated in any school clubs before."

"We have a—"

"—number of different—"

"—clubs to check out!"

As they began to shoot off whatever club came to mind, Haruhi watched Heero shake his head and return his attention to his book. She had noticed the quick glance Quatre had given him—his brow had furrowed slightly before smoothing out again—but no one else saw it as he returned to nodding politely at the list.

"That's an idea!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"What is?" Kaoru and Duo asked.

"We can show Quatre—"

"—the different clubs!" Kaoru caught on.

"What about Milord?" Duo asked.

It took a moment of eye contact between the three of them before they turned to Haruhi at the same time, zeroing in on her with quick efficiency. "Oh, Haruhi," they practically sang.

"I am not your messenger," Haruhi mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Please, Haruhi!" they begged, separating each syllable of her name.

"No!"

"We'll get the supplies you were supposed to pick up for today's guests," Kaoru offered.

Duo leaned his elbow on Hikaru's shoulder. "All you have to do is just tell Milord that we'll be arriving late with our latest classmate in tow."

"And," Hikaru shrugged, "you'll have Yuy with you so Milord can't throw too much of a fuss unless he wants to incur the wrath of a Dangerous Type." The three of them glanced back at Heero with dramatic expressions of terror, who just ignored them.

Quatre chuckled, holding his hand over his mouth. "I don't mean to be a bother, Haruhi, but it'll be alright if we check out the other clubs another day so you don't have to pass the message along."

Haruhi cringed. With the way Quatre said it, it made her sound like some belligerent child. She sighed. "Fine, but you get to explain it to Kyoya if Tamaki-senpai makes a fuss about it."

The three of them saluted as Quatre laughed. With the last couple of minutes of the lunch period winding down, a few other classmates approached Quatre, introducing themselves and assuring him they would do their best to make sure he would be safe and that his time at Ouran would be pleasant. He nodded with a congenial smile, but never really promising anything in return.

It didn't take long for Haruhi to notice that about him. The twins were right in declaring him as some sort of noble dignitary; he certainly had the act down. Though it was difficult to tell if it truly was an act or if he had the same type of personality that Tamaki had when it came to caring for the masses. He—his personality—was too layered.

When the bell sounded, Hikaru ushered Quatre to the desk behind him and on Heero's right. Quatre settled himself into his chair with perfect posture and an attentive visage. Duo flopped into his own chair behind Kaoru and Haruhi felt Heero's attention shift from whatever he was reading to watch the teacher enter the room and tap his notes on the desk.

She still didn't understand why a colony heir would come to a Romefeller institution. It was too contrived to be true, right? Haruhi honestly didn't know anymore. In any event, she would report Kyoya and try and stay objective concerning the latest additions. It was getting bothersome trying to find conspiracies.

* * *

It wasn't one of Wufei's better ideas. Although, in actuality, it was a _good_ idea—just one that went against Quatre's unspoken orders. Even Ahmad had reservations about driving him to the school just to scope things out, but the Maganac member did eventually agree to meet him at a deserted rendezvous point. Before he actually agreed to _drive_ Wufei to Ouran, however, he had tugged on his moustache and shifted his weight, hedging around the topic that, "Master Quatre won't be too pleased."

It took some convincing and assurance from Wufei that he would take full responsibility before Ahmad conceded, "Master Quatre is a good kid, but I would hate to get on his bad side, and it's not because his father is our employer, but he can get… serious."

Wufei nodded in understanding, already have seen that particular trait of Quatre firsthand the day before. But he trusted himself to be able to handle whatever Quatre threw at him. For the most part.

Ahmad drove the Rolls-Royce—an expensive ride no doubt was funded by not only the Winner estate but accounts from a number of OZ officials—up to the main entrance, circling around the fountain just outside the gate and put the car in park. There were already a number of other vehicles parked and set to pick up students—valets standing outside some of the cars just waiting to hold open the door for whatever prosperous brat sauntered over.

He had made his way into Ouran High School just as they were excusing students from their classes. Many had cast him curious glances but otherwise went about their business. It might had been because he was dressed in his best—the white duster cleaned and buttoned up to his collar, covering the silk tank instead of his normal cotton one, the white pants that encircled his ankles, and the black slipper-like shoes instead of the sturdy boots—and walked with the assured gait Duo liked to call "walking with a stick up one's ass."

His eyes roved over each person he passed, marking their position, the way they were heading, and how long it would take for them to pull a gun or make any sort of attack. A scoff slipped through his lips; like these civilians would actually be able to try something like that. It was a hard habit to break in any event, not that he wanted to in the first place.

Coming to a stop, Wufei turned to the male student just exiting a classroom. A girl followed him with a soft smile on the verge of fondness as he went into describing what they needed to cover in the next meeting. The male stuttered to a stop when he saw the Chinese teen watching them, not sure what to make of him.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked, stepping around her male counterpart. She gave Wufei a small smile as her eyes studied him; a quick calculation of who he could be.

Wufei recognized the social examination for what it was and pulled together the high bred scholar he had been before getting caught up in the war. He straightened his already rigid spine and lifted his chin. How nostalgic; the look was one he had given Meiran many times. "Are you asking if you are able to help me or requesting permission to do so? I highly doubt you would be capable in either case, woman."

He watched as pink started to dust her cheeks. It certainly brought back memories. Duo would probably call him an ass if he was around, but if the other pilots and the scientists expected him to play in this school charade, then he would. He would play it the same way he had done so before. If there happened to be someone who knew of him from his boarding school days he wouldn't have to come up with some excuse of a temperament change.

"Excuse me," the boy placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "but who are you? Don't you think you're being a little rude to someone you've never met before?"

"Rude?" Wufei arched an eyebrow. "It is rude that you have yet to introduce yourself when you were the first one to initiate conversation. I am just responding according to my status."

The boy shriveled and cleared his throat. Pushing his glasses up, he did his best to stand up to the rather pompous aura Wufei exuded. "I am Class 1-A President Kazukiyo."

Wufei nodded in return. "Wufei Chang."

The girl made a small sound, her eyes widened and she looked at him. "From L5?" she asked.

He narrowed his eyes, surprised she had made the connection and uncertain whether or not he wanted to answer. He wasn't given the chance. She brightened and clapped her hands, turning toward her companion with flighty movements that made Wufei think of a twitchy bird.

"President, he is of the Long family from the colonies, one of the most prominent and oldest familial hierarchies in the L5 cluster." She gave Wufei a brilliant smile. "My family sends supplies to L5, despite the blockade. I'm Momoka Kurakano. It is an honor to meet you."

Wufei felt the disdain wash over his face as his lip curled. He had to bite back the immediate response he wanted to give her—that his family doesn't accept charity or pity—and did his best to school his features back into some semblance of apathy, since pleasant was far from being part of his repertoire. "That is my family," he finally managed to ground out.

"Oh, I hope everyone is doing alright." She didn't notice Wufei's withheld aggression. "What with the war going on and the rebel colonists, I can't imagine what it must be like to live there, especially in some of the conditions I've heard of—and that unfortunate accident a few years ago with the defect in the sanitation system. That must have been terrible."

Wufei felt the last string of his patience fray to microscopic fibers, but he held on. _Give me a goddamned cookie for not ripping this woman—_girl_—to shreds._ He cringed at the expression, knowing he had heard it from Duo.

Momoko noticed the flinch and completely misunderstood its reason. "I'm sorry; I must have brought up some painful memories."

_This whole mission is a painful memory, _Wufei thought. He wouldn't like to admit it, but her words incensed an old anger at OZ and the Earth Alliance for describing the attack on his home as some sort of malfunction instead of the extermination it originally had meant to be.

"As an apology, I'll be sure to explain to my father that we should increase the shipment as compensation for my insensitive words." She bowed.

"It's alright," he said, trying to stitch back together his patience with what practically amounted to Gundamium and welding instead of the needle and thread it usually needed. It was no wonder why Duo accused him of being uptight.

"I have to wonder what brings you here," Kazukiyo finally spoke up, his hands flittering at his sides. "If you are from the colonies, I mean, why would you come here? I mean here _here_, as in Ouran—I mean, it's kinda strange, right?" He turned to Momoko.

Wufei raised an eyebrow at the rambling. The president was an obvious pushover, how he ever made the position had yet to be proven to the pilot. Using the best excuse he could readily give for his presence, Wufei shrugged. "If I am to be an heir to the family I should be able to understand and relate to the politics of Earth, including the very organization that oppresses my very way of life."

The two flinched.

"The fact that Romefeller allowed me into this school," Wufei continued, "says that maybe there can be some sort of agreement between the people of the colonies and the Earth Sphere. Because I am the next generation that my family and the colony is relying on, I'll do my damnedest to make sure that those following me won't have to live through another war, not when I can do something about it." _Like destroy OZ and Romefeller and defeat Treize,_ he added.

The president cupped his chin in his hand and thought over the response while Momoko smiled.

"That's so noble!" She stepped forward and took his hands in hers. "Even though Ouran is affiliated with Romefeller, I'm positive that many of the students here feel the same way as you."

_But what about the adults?_ The thought was cut short when the softness of her hands rubbed against the calluses of his. She didn't seem to notice, but he immediately understood the immense difference between them. Though he had followed the path of a scholar at first, he had still trained with Master Long, Meiran's grandfather, still held his family's sword from a young age, and still followed the arts of his ancestors. His training left him marked. But the marks left on his hands from piloting Nataku and holding a gun were different and, for a moment, he was nervous she would know.

He removed his hands from hers.

"So you're the last transfer," Kazukiyo said. Wufei just shrugged one shoulder. "I thought you weren't supposed to be in until tomorrow?"

"I heard that there was a respectable dojo and martial arts club here and I wanted to see it first."

"If that's the case, we can show you around," Momoko offered.

"But—"

"Our duties can wait, President," She started walking, gesturing for the two to follow. "This is also an important part of our duties." Wufei fell in step with her, leaving the president to walk behind.

"One the Host Club seems to have taken over," he mumbled and then brightened. "At least we beat them to the punch this time!"

They passed classrooms and staircases, heading down a hall that lead away from the main foyer of the school and the grand staircase. She pointed down different hallways and rooms, explaining the various classrooms and what they were used for and even mentioned some of the rumors that were going on around the school concerning people who could usually be found in some of the rooms. They headed towards the Middle School wing, but turned down another hallway that led outside. Momoko tried making small talk with Wufei, but he stuck with monosyllabic answers. It didn't seem to deter her.

Kazukiyo caught up to walk on Wufei's open side and started to respond to Momoko in his place.

Stepping outside, the three walked down a covered walkway through a small courtyard—one that was small in comparison to the main one where the fountain was located. There were a number of facilities the walkway branched off to with students already strolling to their respective clubs. Wufei tracked them, making note of what type of club the students may be involved with.

There were a group of four guys wearing broad shoulder pads with helmets dangling from their fingers heading off the walkway through the courtyard. _The American Football Club, heading to the field behind the East Wing._ Wufei watched them as their apparent leader stopped and glanced over. He had an orange in his free hand that was brought close to his lips. His eyes narrowed before taking a bite of the fruit. The teen next to him tilted his head in question, but he just gave his head a small shake before ushering them back on their way. Wufei didn't miss the glance masked by the movement of turning his head to talk to the student next to him.

_He's not associated with the war, but he might be a concern_. Filing the teen's face away for later, Wufei made note of the other club members still making their way to their buildings. A few were dressed in _hakama _and carrying bows, others were wearing light shirts and shorts with long socks heading in the opposite direction of the American Football Club to the other field he knew the school had, and—the group they happened to be following—were dressed in Kendo gear and one of them was carrying a Kendo sword, a _shinai_.

"We're going to see Mori-senpai; he's the captain of the Kendo club," Momoko explained. "We would have taken you to the Karate Club, but Hunny-senpai isn't there right now."

"That's fine," Wufei said. _Perfect_. The whole reason for his un-Quatre-sanctioned mission was to get in touch with the Morinozuka and/or Haninozuka families and here was his first good chance.

Following the group, they entered the building. Wufei was immediately impressed with the facility. There were two separate "stages" layered with _tatami_ mats. Along the left-hand wall were racks with _shinai _as well as a few other practice weapons. A thin eyebrow rose when Wufei saw a practice Chinese glaive—a _guan dao_—as well as the Chinese sword—a _dao_—weapons he was intimately familiar with, whether using them himself or being beat by them when he was younger. In front of the racks were a couple of benches where some of the participants were sitting and chatting, pulling on and adjusting gear. Most of the students, though, were gathered around a taller student who answered questions and responded with a nod or shake of his head.

Wufei knew exactly who he was looking at.

"I'll go get Mori-senpai," Kazukiyo offered. Pushing up his glasses, he moved over to the large group.

"What do you think?" Momoko asked, leaning forward to look over at him.

"I am impressed." Wufei nodded, watching a student exit from a door in the far right corner of the room. _Locker room,_ Wufei labeled. There was another room in the right wall with glass windows and sliding door. An older gentleman was rummaging through some of the cabinets, setting out athletic tape and wrap, and organizing first aid kits. Wufei was able to count two cushioned tables and noticed a backroom where an icebox was visible and he guessed was probably an office as well. He had to approve of the trainer's room—it was surprisingly simple compared to what he had seen with the rest of the school. It almost looked like it was within the normal spectrum of trainers' rooms. He couldn't see further into the backroom, so for all he knew it might even have a sauna and massage area. With what he could make out, he was pleased, especially if he was going to participate in the club—there were going to be a number of Romefeller brats who were going to be sent in there.

He allowed a small smile at the thought.

Momoko poked him on the arm. "I take it you're considering joining, aren't you?" She dropped her hand back to her side and kept her gaze on her feet, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the floor.

Wufei raised any eyebrow at her sudden shyness, but didn't bother to question it; a female quirk, no doubt. "If I am accepted, then yes." He watched Kazukiyo lead Mori away from the group. The class president's hands were flitting about his body, tugging at his uniform while he glanced from Mori to Wufei.

The nervousness Kazukiyo showed caused Wufei to slide his foot to the side in a wider stance, masking the movement as a shifting of his weight. Was Kazukiyo nervous that Mori would start something because he had brought a non-student? Or perhaps he thought Wufei was just there to challenge Mori for some sort of prestigious design? In any case, it set Shenlong's pilot even more on edge. Especially since every eye in the room was watching; mostly out of curiosity but Wufei would swear he felt the heat of hostility.

"Mori-senpai, this is Wufei Chang." Kazukiyo stopped in front of Wufei and Momoko. "He's transferring here from L5 and is interested in the martial arts clubs, including Hunny-senpai's Karate Club." Mori was nodding as Kazukiyo went on, though the older student's attention was focused on Wufei. "He will officially be a student of Ouran tomorrow."

"Right," Mori said after a moment. "I'm Takashi Morinozuka." He bowed, bending his spin forward. It left him completely open.

Wufei responded before Mori could unbend. He showed the same respect he was given and bowed just as low. "Wufei Chang heir to the Long Family of L5," he said when they straightened.

Mori nodded.

Apparently, the silence between must have lasted too long or just made everyone else uncomfortable because a club member cleared his throat. "Senpai, are we going to get started before you have to leave for the Host Club?"

"Hm." Mori nodded again and said to Wufei, "You are welcomed to stay and observe."

"Thank you."

Mori lead the group over to the nearest _tatami_ platform. The students who had been preparing on the benches stood up to follow, brushing off their gear as they went. Once everyone was ready to begin, their focus was kept on their instructor and left Wufei mostly to his own devices. They were definitely amateurs if they couldn't at least split their attention with an unknown in the same vicinity. At least he felt Mori's subtle attention and that increased his respect for the older student. He started walking over to the empty benches but was stopped by a hand on his forearm.

"Wufei, will you be alright by yourself?" Momoko asked. "Kazukiyo and I should return to our regular duties."

His eyes flickered to her hand before he answered, "I will be fine." His tone came out sharper than he had intended but he wasn't going to retract or apologize for it.

Kazukiyo bristled but Momoko took it in stride and just smiled. "That's good. If you need anything, Mori-senpai will help you." She removed her hand and grabbed Kazukiyo's wrist. "Can't wait to have you in class!" She pulled the class president behind her, waving over her shoulder as they exited the hall.

Wufei watched the door slide shut behind them before continuing his way to the benches. He walked in front of the racks, running his fingers over some of the weapons, checking the conditions. He was once again impressed and quite pleased. The sounds of the students stretching and preparing, the smell of the wood and equipment, brought a sense of nostalgia before he shook it away. He finished his quick survey and took a seat just in time to watch the group start with the first basic form.

If he had been a normal student, he could have said he lost track of time, but he knew he watched the group for 23 minutes before another student took over. He didn't just watch the group practice their _kata_, he internally critiqued every movement or lack of balance in a stance. And everyone he had critiqued, Mori had walked over and helped to correct the mistake.

After helping one more student, Mori separated himself from the group and made his way over to Wufei.

Wufei stood up to meet him, noticing that Mori didn't appear the least bit tired or even winded from the lesson. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

Mori placed his _shinai_ on the rack and tilted his head towards the locker room, taking a step in that direction before he glanced back at Wufei over his shoulder.

Wufei nodded. _Certainly the trusting one_, he thought as he followed Mori to the locker room. _Or else it's just confidence. _He let the thought drop as he entered the room, his mind analyzing every corner in place of wondering about Mori's lack of caution. It was just as extravagant as Wufei expected from what he had seen of the rest of the school and the reports from the others, but it was also clean and pristine. Though the Roman columns were a little much.

He leaned against the wall near the door, crossing his arms over his chest. Mori had wandered to his locker a couple of rows over and began to change out of his gear. Only the top of his head was visible.

"Is there something you wish to discuss?" Wufei asked. Might as well drag whatever issue there might be out into the open.

The rustling stopped. "Not really." Mori's answered seemed to straight from the center of his chest to resonate throughout the room. The echo was joined by the sound of rustling clothes again.

Wufei didn't believe him.

A locker snapped shut and Mori appeared in his school uniform. His tie was draped over the un-tucked button down with the minimum amount of buttons actually closed while his jacket hung open and a bag was slung over his shoulder.

The two of them stood, eyeing each other. All they needed was the dust and tumble weed blowing between them while spectators cowered in their houses, peeking through the shutters. Wufei's tension level shot up even further, feeling like he was waiting for the 10-count in an old-fashioned quick-draw. Mori's calm, unassuming demeanor set him on edge—the thought of a civilian matching the same placid and tranquil aura that was Trowa's entire being was enough to make him grind his teeth.

"We would be honored to have you join the Kendo Club," Mori said, his voice like a gunshot as he drew first.

Draw and fire or dodge first? "I am honored that you would accept me." Wufei drew.

The older teen nodded. "Your station would see that you are prolific in Chinese styles, I hope you will be able to incorporate Kendo as well."

"I am sure I will manage," Wufei fired back.

Mori adjusted his bag on his shoulder and titled his head toward the door. Wufei nodded and straightened, lifting an eyebrow as he waited for the other teen to walk by before following a step behind.

The Kendo Club was still running through forms and exercises, but they paid no mind to the two leaving the building. Wufei followed Mori through the courtyard and back into the main building of the high school. The halls were less busy, but a few students were still milling around. Two female students approached and inquired whether or not Mori would be attending the Host Club. Mori gave them what Wufei was beginning to suspect was his default response, a nod of his head.

During the short exchange, Wufei had to do a discrete double-take. Trowa was walking behind a female student who had a "no-nonsense" air about her. Heavyarms's pilot had a stack of folders balanced in his arms, and a pair of reading glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. He looked like he belonged; a normal student without a hidden agenda in espionage. But that was the point, wasn't it? Blend in, complete the mission—whatever it was—and get out without anyone knowing.

Within moments of his first encounter with Trowa, Wufei knew the teen was skilled at hiding in plain sight. The details that made him remarkable were the very things that made him unremarkable. Wufei, despite coming up with the conclusion himself, didn't understand it at first, but seeing Trowa in his element finally helped him make sense of it. Trowa's version of espionage was at the opposite end of Duo's; he relied on making himself just part of the crowd as being nothing more than a presence while Deathscythe's pilot used his charisma and likability to charm people into assuming he wasn't a threat at all. Quatre had Duo's charisma but he was more manipulative, and unlike Duo, Quatre didn't have any qualms about lying.

Out of the five of them, Wufei counted himself as the worst at undercover work. Even worse than Heero. The only reason why Heero made it through the times hiding out in a school was because everyone was too nervous around him, therefore never really took a chance to get to know him and have him blow his cover.

Wufei didn't even bother with the school route.

At Ouran he would just have to fall back on his boarding school days, a fact that was instantly revisited when Trowa stopped walking and glanced over. Shenlong's pilot lifted his chin and glared at the mild curiosity Trowa cast over him. Trowa gave a small shrug before he turned away to follow the girl who had kept on walking without him.

Tension crawled up Wufei's spine. Mori was watching him; his one-sided conversation with the girls done. He clenched his jaw, the scrutiny causing more discomfort since he had just mentally listed himself as the worst covert operative and he probably had just blown his cover because he stared too long at another student. Hell, he had probably blown Trowa's cover as well. Sure, he could sneak into a military base just fine, but blending in? That was an exercise in futility. All the meditation in the world couldn't cure that stress. "Is there something you want to say?" he snapped.

It took an impossibly long moment for Mori to respond. "Tamaki will probably ask you to join the Host Club." He started walking.

That wasn't what Wufei had expected him to say. It actually had him momentarily floored and unable to respond. Where were the accusations? The call for security? And the ordering of him to be sent to the nearest detainment cell? The giggles of the girls nearby jolted him out of his momentary stupor and he cursed at himself for letting his guard down. "I don't have time for such frivolities." He caught up in time to hear Mori hum in thought.

The rest of the trek was spent in silence and they made it to the main entrance without any further interruptions. Wufei was just about ready to excuse himself from Mori's escort, but of course he couldn't get off that easily.

"Mori-senpai!" a trio of voices called down from the second floor landing of the staircase.

The older teen stopped and glanced up, causing Wufei to take the extra step forward to see around him and who it was who had hailed him.

He was dead.

Duo and the twins he had heard about were waving down at them with matching grins. They weren't the issue though, maybe a handy distraction, but definitely not the issue. Wufei didn't even have time to _consider_ dodging, drawing, let alone firing.

Quatre already had him pinned; reflexes faster in this quick draw and Wufei hadn't stood a chance. Sandrock's pilot had leveled a stare at him even before he had realized it and by the time he did, Wufei knew he was going to pay for his improvisation to the original plan without clearance first.

Yeah, he was so dead.

* * *

**Bonus!:** "Because of Halloween (even though I'm about a week late) here's a little sketch/drama/script/outline thing that I whipped up."

Tamaki:(rushes into clubroom) I have the most wonderful idea!

Kyoya: (puts down calculator) And what might that be?

Tamaki: (brushes hair back with flourish) Since it's only been about a week after Halloween and Death has been stressing out over the insurmountable amount of homework and could use a bit of cheering up, why don't we get the RGB cast together and cosplay!

Kyoya: (raises eyebrows) And how is this different than what we already do at the Host Club?

Tamaki: (waves arms) Because we'll be cosplaying as Final Fantasy characters! And if it's well-received, we might be able to convince Death to put some form of it in the actual story!

Kyoya: (taps in a few numbers on his calculator and hums in thought) Congratulations, Tamaki, you have once again impressed me with the fact that your head isn't there for mere decoration.

Tamaki: Why are you so mean?

Kyoya: Tamaki, now isn't the time, we're on a tight schedule (stands up and exits the clubroom with Tamaki trailing behind)

-(A few hours later)-

Tamaki: (voice comes from behind the curtain where everyone else is waiting) Let's play name that Final Fantasy charater with the RGB cast!

Haruhi: When did this become a contest?

Duo: Who's s'posed to be the judges?

Hikaru/Kaoru: Death isn't even here.

Quatre: Maybe the reviewers?

Wufei: (scoffs) Unlikely.

Hunny: We're supposed to be having fun!

-_crash!_-

Kyoya: Let's just continue with the plan, shall we?

Heero: Mission accepted.

Mori: Hm.

Trowa: Right.

-(curtain flairs open and Tamaki walks out)-

Tamaki: I'm the hero of this Final Fantasy! (lifts huge plastic sword to rest on his shoulder, his hair looks like someone had attempted to gel it up in unruly spikes)

Hikaru/Kaoru: More emo, Milord!

Duo: I still think we shoulda put him in the dress instead of the fatigues…

Tamaki: Haruhi! Haruhi! Your turn! (reaches through the curtain and grabs an arm and pulls)

Trowa: (allows the grip on his free arm, while the other was tucked into the sleeve of his red tunic. The collar hides the lower half of his face while the dark sunglasses covers his eyes) Am I supposed to mention something about a story?

Haruhi: (stumbles out from behind the curtain after being pushed by the twins) Why do I have to wear this? I don't even know what to label half of the things I'm wearing. (wearing what looks to be Elizabethan era men's clothing with loose sleeves and white gloves. Boots reach up to mid-thigh and an amulet of 2 serpentine dragons curling around each other hangs off her collar)

Tamaki: Haruhi, you look so—

Hunny: (springs out from behind the curtain and ends up knocking Tamaki to the ground) Sorry, Tama-chan. (tugs on brown hat that doesn't quite make it up to a point but instead droops down, pulling it lower over his face. A blue jacket with baggy striped pants complete the outfit)

Mori: (steps out) It's alright, Mitsukuni (is wearing heavy cargo pants with a blue sash around his waist. A beige trenchcoat covers his blue vest and black shirt and he is wearing a black bandana)

Hunny: (slumps) Aw, Takashi, you need to be more like your character! You're supposed to say that you're a hero!

Quatre: Since everyone else seems to just be walking out… (shrugs, the spikes on the shoulders of his blue and white armor lifting dangerously close to poking Trowa. A cape trails behind him, catching on the sword sheathed across his lower back)

Hikaru/Kaoru: (follow Quatre and place their hands on his head) Wow, in the light you're even more shiny, Quatre.

Hikaru: Oh, should probably be in character (clears throat) Too bad there aren't any pretty girls around or a princess to kidnap (his tail sticking out of the back of his blue pants swishes as he moves. He is wearing a white sleeveless shirt under a teal vest with gloves that have large cuffs)

Kaoru: Right (nods head. He is wearing an outfit comprised of different blues with white, completed by a sash around his waist, leggings, and a blue short cape) Oh, should probably be in character (clears throat) Too bad there aren't any pretty girls around or a princess to kidnap.

Duo: Not surprised that you're good at that (instead of his normal braid, his hair is pulled back into a low ponytail while a cowboy hat covers the rest. He is wearing a trenchcoat with a purple vest underneath and brown chaps layered over his jeans. He taps a shotgun against his shoulder)

Haruhi: (pushes Tamaki away who is trying to hug her and receives a spike of hair in the eye) That isn't a real gun, is it?

Duo: (shrugs) Of course not.

Trowa: It shouldn't be…

Hunny: (points a gloved finger) Tama-chan, you and Takashi aren't in character! Don't make me cast a Bun-Bun Fire! (holds out Bun-Bun who has purple wings taped to its back with a red pom-pom sticking out of the top of its head)

Quatre: Don't you think you should come out, Wufei?

Wufei: (walks out, grumbling) Maybe you should've worn the black armor instead, Quatre. (is wearing a finely-pressed black suit, his hair is out of its normal tie and is brushed back from his face with a chakra on the center of his forehead) This is _so_ type-casting.

Heero: (walks out) Almost as obvious as mine (is wearing black leather pants with a black leather jacket that has a white feathered collar. A scar was painted on between his eyes) This doesn't even make sense (holds up gun with a cardboard extension cut in a shape of a blade)

Hikaru/Kaoru: Where's Kyoya?

Renge: (appears from out of nowhere) Oh ho ho ho! Where is my dear Kyoya? (her hair is done up in a ponytail and she is wearing a red strapless top with separated sleeves. She is wearing leggings and a decorative sash wrapped around her waist and a cape)

Host Club Members Minus Haruhi: Otaku!

Kyoya: Tamaki, you're making a scene (light dim, he steps out wearing a long black leather jacket with straps crossing over his chest and black leather pants, in his hand he holds a long slender sword) I think you should get in character now to make this more serious.

Tamaki: Mother…

* * *

**Author's Note: **"Again, I'm still alive. Though this semester is kicking my ass, but once it's done I only have one more to go before I graduate! Honestly, it's been a mess. I'll admit to that and I'm sorry I wasn't able to get a chapter out sooner. I'm sure many of you have been waiting impatiently and I don't blame you, but I have not forgotten about my readers.

"A lot has happened this past year that I really don't know where to start to explain my absence. Germany trip back in May, summer semester classes, two jobs, etc…

"As usual, many of the things in here are completely different than what I had originally planned for this story way, _way_ back in '07 or whatever year it was. However, I am pleased where it's taking me and the fact that it is actually making sense.

"Yes, I like writing a darker Quatre. He's a lot more fun than the sweet guy many make him out to be and besides, there has to be something more to him in order for him to snap under ZERO other than his father's death.

"Ah, Wufei, he really is a bastard. But thanks to him, Mori and Hunny are going to get more time. Hopefully the Kendo Club scene worked out and I plan to have some scenes with them sparring (can't wait!)

**Acknowledgments:** "Many thanks to _**Strata-Assassin**_ for the beta and everything else that she puts up with from me (which is a lot, I'm guessing…)

"Special thanks to _**SmileRen**_ for voicing her concerns about some details and for the conversation (which I'm sorry for not replying back!)

"As always, in typical closing fashion, leave critiques, suggestions, questions, ideas, criticism, whatever in either a review or PM. Much appreciated!"

~Death


End file.
